Brothers in Arms
by American Soldier
Summary: Three friends, left behind by events beyond their control, meet again. Crossover, prequel to 'The Rough Riders.'
1. The Reacquainting

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

Summary: this is a crossover series I came up with during Georgia. It's about three friends who knew each other pre-Sunnydale. And, as always, Xander-centric. He, Willow (Still unsure but, until I'm convinced, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt), Giles, Tara (thank God she didn't come back as the First, that would have just sucked!), and Faith seem to be the truer heroes of the group in Sunnydale. Angel's group is much better, because they understand the thin line between good and evil, but aren't always sure which side they're on. It's much more understandable, at least to me, than blind self-righteousness. Obviously, I speak of Buffy.

Sorry for the rant. I'm very obsessing about it because I have a friend who is…a duplicate of such an attitude, so to speak. It's part of the reason why I went on the retreat. It rocked, by the way. So, enjoy the story.

$£#

New Orleans, Louisiana:

Xander Harris sat down outside his parent's house in a huff. The six-year-old's birthday had passed by today, and neither had noticed…unsurprisingly. They were too busy being passed out on the floor, both half naked…again, unsurprisingly. He hated it in this place and wanted out, to anywhere, so long as it was away from his family. Of course, there was one thing that would make him want to stay.

"Hey," he heard someone call.

Xander looked up and smiled. That thing was walking down the street: his best friend, Remy LeBeau, also known as 'Gambit' to his streetwise friends. Remy was a prince of thieves, and he meant that literally. He was the adoptive son of the main force of crime in New Orleans, called the Guild of Thieves. That gave him special friends and dangerous enemies, along with many great adventures. When his Uncle Rory had almost been sent to jail because of a false charge, Remy and he had broken into the arresting officer's patrol car and stolen the tape needed, then gave it to his uncle as a way out. It had worked, but only just. He owed his friend for that and had no doubt that he would eventually want to collect. However, he could tell from his friend's demeanor that he had no intention of collecting today. His smile told of something different.

"Hey there, Remy," Xander greeted his friend, "What's goin' on?"

"Big times, bro," Gambit said, "A stuffy British family just moved in and I saw them carting in some kinda weird looking weaponry, like something outta _Star Wars_. You wanna take a look?"

That struck his curiosity enough. Gambit knew that Xander loved the old movies about sci-fi and space adventures and was obviously not above using it to get what he wanted. He smiled and stood up, shaking off his baggy jeans as he did so.

"Birthday present," he asked.

"You can call it that," he answered with a smile, "Come on, _mon ami_, let's shake things up a little, eh?"

He sighed and said, "What the _enfer_?"

$£#

Remy jumped down from the fence on crouched legs, his experience served him well. He knew that this small mansion was probably a squatting hole to these Brits and was naturally inclined to dislike them due to their wealth. He may be from a thief collective, but they weren't entirely well off just yet. And he was a mutant, after all. That didn't exactly earn him an outstanding reputation with the entire Guild. In fact, he knew, for a fact, that a few members of the Guild, along with the brother of his future wife in the Guild of Assassins, were planning his demise. It was sad, from his point of view, to already be married off even when he wasn't eight yet. At least he had his friend, Xander.

He kept in a crouched position and hid in the bushes so as to avoid detection. He heard his friend come down behind him and didn't look back, he knew that Xander would soon be beside him.

"How do you think we should get in," he heard his friend ask.

"The back door's open, or was when I left," Gambit answered, "We'll go in through there. If it's not, we'll use the pipe along the wall right there, climb into the open window."

Xander nodded and the duo silently moved through the bushes, avoiding any sounds they could, and came to the backdoor…which just so happened to be ajar.

"I'll go in first," Remy stated, "Check and see if the coast is clear. If I get caught, you beat it on outta here and spring me out later, just like last time."

He nodded in agreement, remembering the half-night his friend had spent in the prison. It hadn't been easy but, Xander had managed to get him out. Fortunately, the police hadn't taken prints or anything like that to look into his record. They just figured they could scare him straight. Remy was that way sometimes, he could give off a boyish innocence easily. Other times, he was harder than cold steel. That was one feat that the thief couldn't claim, that he had successfully broken into jail and broken someone out.

He nodded once more to make sure Gambit had understood and watched in reservation as the Cajun lad slowly entered the building. He stuck his head in first, then went inside to see if anyone was in the hallway. For a long moment, Xander had been certain that Remy had been caught, then he saw the gloved hand poke a thumb out. 'All Clear,' in other words. He smiled and silently stalked across the open area into the building. Remy waved him inside and shut the door behind him quickly, so as to avoid any kind of creak.

"There's a stairway in the hall," Gambit informed him, "It leads up to some kinda reception hall, like the one in the Guild HQ."

"We'll go in together," Xander stated quickly, "We're in it together from here on out."

Remy nodded in agreement. The two took a long breath to steady their nerves, then began to move up the stairs, each step precise and slow, to avoid any creaks and to reach the top quickly. Random steps could lead to a loud creak, which might draw attention, while precise ones would increase their rate of climb and muscle strain. To just run up stairs would lead to the muscles wearing a little, while moving slowly would allow for maximum efficiency in case of a retreat being needed. They had done this many times and would probably continue to do it many times later on in life.

Once they reached the top of the steps, they slowly came out to examine the room. The first thing they noticed was the sound of a click.

$£#

He had seen them come across the lawn. They were experienced in the art of not being detected, that much was certain. He had, at first, meant to get his father. Then, he had thought to simply do it himself. He was, after all, a spy in training. He had walked up to the reception room, where his father would often meet with his uncle or an associate, and talk business. He knew, for a fact, that there was always a pistol hidden in the desk. He walked behind it and hit the switch that released the spring-loaded shelf, and the revolver popped up, ready for usage. He was, in spite of his young age of eight, certified to handle that sort of weapon. Another lucky part of being the nephew of a secret agent.

As he saw the two blaggards come to the top of the stairs, James Bond pointed the weapon at them and pulled back the hammer.

$£#

Remy and Xander stood stock still as they saw the deadly weapon pointed unwaveringly at them. They both knew what kind of damage a Smith and Wesson could do to them and didn't want to have it happen. So, they both raised their hands above their heads and stared straight at their captor. He had brown hair and brown eyes, not too dissimilar to Xander's, and was staring at them with a look of hard amusement. It was obvious that he found the situation more amusing than serious, and was confident in himself. Something that may or may not be a good thing.

"Well, well," the older boy said in a British accent, "Looks like I've got trespassers. Tell me, what are two ruffians like you doing in my home?"

"We're here to steal some of your guns," Gambit said without pausing for thought.

"Great going, man," Xander muttered.

"How do you know we have weapons in this house," the English boy asked, his hand as steady as ever.

"I saw them in the crates as you moved in," Remy answered.

James smiled at that. They were just like him: bold and inquisitive. Well, he could hardly blame them for that. When he had first met Uncle James, the MI6 agent had let him use his Walther on the shooting range. It was a pivotal moment of his young life, one he'd never forget. What kind of a person would he be if he condemned them for something he himself was guilty of on more than several occasions? He kept his smile on as he put the hammer back and put the pistol away, then returned his gaze to the two lads. Neither were older than him, obviously, but both appeared to be accustomed to the mean side of the streets. He might be able to learn a few things from them.

"I can't blame you for that," he responded, "I used to sneak into the vault and look at all the stuff in there."

"You're not gonna turn us over," Xander asked, bewildered.

"Oh, no," James answered, "You're just curious. Nothing wrong with that."

"Well, nice to know there are some nice people out there today," Remy said with a grin.

The two thieves walked over to the desk as James walked from behind it. As the three met, they came together in a triangle. They stood still for a moment, silently assessing the other. Finally, one of them felt it was a good time for introductions.

"Xander Harris," he greeted the English boy with a grin.

"Remy LeBeau," Gambit echoed his friend, trusting the young boy's sense of judgment.

"James Bond," the Brit responded with a grin of his own.

$£#

It was around six months later when the next big event occurred. Over that time, the trio had become great friends and had gone on many adventures together. James had taught them how to shoot many forms of weaponry, including pistols, rifles, crossbows, and longbows. The two natives of Louisiana had both become proficient, though Xander was equal with James himself, in all four forms of weaponry. Remy had helped the young spy in training with his throwing talents, teaching him how to throw blades, stars, and cards, which was a talent of his. It had come out, on accident, that Gambit was a mutant when he had accidentally caused one of his cards to be filled with the odd energy his body produced, but James proved to be accepting of it. As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter whether you had such abilities. It was the purpose that mattered. His parents called him 'smart beyond his years.' They were right.

Xander had helped teach Bond how to pick locks and sneak into buildings undetected, a skill he had that couldn't be competed with by the Guild member. His true skill was in pick pocketing. Xander, however, was best at locks and evasive tactics. Before long, James had known every single way to evade the police in New Orleans. A useful feature if he ever ended back up in Louisiana. That didn't seem like a great possibility now, though. The English boy's father had gotten James into a special school in Scotland and was leaving this morning. The two had just finished saying their goodbyes and were watching their friend drive away when yet another bomb dropped on them as Tony Harris walked up the sidewalk.

"What's your dad doin' here," Gambit asked, he had no love for his friend's father and wasn't shy about it.

"Don't know," Xander answered honestly, "Hey, Dad."

"Come on, boy," his father roughly said, "We're leaving."

"What," _No_, he thought, _This can't happen. I can't leave Remy the same day James does._

"You heard me, you stupid shit," Tony said with a glare at the Guild member, "We're leaving. You got an hour to pack your shit up, then we're gone. And don't think of runnin' off with your friend here, I've already called his father. Now, get going."

For a long moment, Xander just wanted to take off down the street. He and Remy could hide easily from both the Guild and his father but, in the end, he knew that couldn't happen. They would eventually get caught and his dad would take out his angst on his mother. He wouldn't allow her to suffer for him.

Sighing in resignation, he sent a small smile to his friend and began to walk down the street.

$£#

Sunnydale, Present:

Xander Harris sighed as he walked away from Cordelia, feeling very satisfied as he did so. Last night had been one of the most important nights of his young life, in so many more ways than just his departure into manhood. He had learned that he could handle what the world threw at him, and after everything that the gang had tried to keep him away from, that was a satisfying fact. It was a long time ago that he had never once doubted himself, or his friends. He sighed once more and went to the snack machine, put his money in, and tapped his choice. He heard a whirring in the machine, followed immediately by nothing.

"What," he groaned, "Come on. You can't steal my dollar today."

But, steal his money, it did. He punched the machine once to see if it would be responsive and got nothing for his troubles. Groaning, the young man turned away and walked back out to where his friends sat. He stopped in the doorway and stared at them. They were still discussing last night, that much was obvious. While he did want to inform his friends of what he had done, he knew he would end up seeming petty for doing it. In the end, he was petty, sorta. He didn't want to be and knew that being around them during their post-battle discussion would just be too tempting to pass up.

He decided to get away from the conversation and walked back into the building, through the halls, and into the opposite quad near the stairwell and observation tower. He sighed again and fell onto a bench. He folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the clouds, lost in thought.

"Well, lookie here," he heard a familiar voice say above him, "Looks like somethin' on your mind."

"Think so," Xander said without looking at the owner of the voice.

"I reckon so, Xander," the voice said.

He looked up to see who the person was and had to stop himself from hitting his head on the seat as he realized why he had recognized the voice.

"Remy," he said with a grin and sat up, "What are you doing here, you old bastard."

His old friend just smiled and shrugged. He was dressed a pair of black jeans and a red shirt, along with a brown leather duster. He could see something deep within it…a deck of cards. Xander smiled and shifted over, inviting his friend to sit down. He was more than happy to oblige.

"What's up, Gambit," he asked the thief, "I never thought I'd see you again after I left."

"It took a long time to track ya down, Xand," Remy stated with a grim smile, "Lotta stuff done happen 'tween then and now."

"Let's hear it," he inquired, "And I've got a few stories to tell you, too."

"I bet," Gambit said, "Well, do you recall how I was betrothed to the princess of the Guild of Assassins?" At Xander's nod, he continued, "Well, I couldn't go through with it. Didn't have the heart to do it. Actually, her brother tried to stop me. Challenged me to a duel."

"Let me see if I can guess the rest," Xander challenged, "You won and left in order to stop a war, right?"

"That's about right," he answered, "I see you ain't changed that much, eh?"

"You'd be surprised. But, I'm sorry, continue."

"Ain't much more to tell. I caught a bunch of busses and made my way to California, looked up the Harris's in the phonebook and found that the most were in Sunnydale. Been looking around addresses for a while till it got through my brain that you were probably in school. I wouldn't know, what with me havin' to drop out."

"Tough luck, Remy," Xander said sympathetically, "Thinking about joining up here?"

"Might as well. Be a good chance to catch up, eh?"

"I think we just did."

"Briefly. So, what about you, Xander? What has gone on in the life of Louisiana's former best escape artist?"

"…" Xander paused before answering, not sure if he really wanted to tell his friend…who was a mutant, stupid to hesitate, he would be a lot of help to them and he knew it, "Well, I guess I should tell you first about what happened after I moved here. See, I came to school and met my best friend in the world, next to you and Jimbo, of course. Her name's Willow and me and her are still friends. She had a friend named Jesse and, well…"

$£#

Buffy Summers groaned as she exited the high school and came to the quad. Giles had noticed that Xander was being unusually quiet and had 'deduced,' as he put it, that he was sore from being left out of the fight. Well, tough! She knew she had done the right thing by keeping him out of the fight. It was too dangerous and he would have been hurt, or killed. He was just the normal guy, after all. He couldn't do anything useful for the group, aside from getting the donuts.

She walked out into the bright sunlight and wondered if things would ever get easier for her. She turned her head slightly and saw one of the most unusual sights of her life: Xander, sitting on a bench, talking with someone who wasn't a Scooby. As far as she knew, he didn't have any friends besides her and Willow. Well, naturally, she just needed to find out what was going on. God forbid she actually gave them some privacy. She began to walk to them.

$£#

"Wow," Remy said, "That's some story there, Xander. You guys did all that? And you stopped a bomb from destroying the school?"

"Yeah," he answered sadly, "So, enough about me. We've heard your story. What do you say, man? I'll show you around town."

"Sounds good to me," Gambit answered with a grin, "Come on, my truck's over here."

"I thought you caught the bus."

"Up till LA. Then, I bought a truck with some money I found…in a man's wallet."

"Come on, you thief."

The two stood up and walked over to the parking lot. Remy went first and beelined over to a Ford Ranger.

"It's open," the thief called.

The two climbed inside and fastened up before Gambit started the ignition and drove out of the parking lot, leaving behind a disgruntled blonde to stare in their wake.

$£#

He smiled as he felt his feet come off the disembarking ramp. It felt good to be back on land again, especially after spending days in the air, literal days that is, training in the HALO jump. He walked forward, realizing that he had held up the line for a moment, and walked away from the ramp and into Sunnydale International. He was going to look up an old friend first, then James Bond, nephew of agent 007, and future spy himself, would get started on his assignment. But, firstly and foremost, he was grabbing himself a snack.

$£#

"And here is Sunnydale International Airport," Xander pointed at the white building to the right of the parked truck, "It's not LAX but, it's got a great chow hall and, considering that we missed lunch, I say we grab a bight to eat."

"Sounds fine to me," Remy stated with a smile, "I haven't eaten nothin' since LA. I'm starved."

Xander had to grin at that. So far, it looked like not much had changed over the last ten years or twelve years, he wasn't too sure how old he had been when he had moved from New Orleans. He kept his grin up and climbed out of the vehicle, then started up towards the airport, Gambit not far behind him.

$£#

James sat at his table and inhaled the aroma of melted cheese as he began to sink into the minimized pizza in front of him. Contrary to what most of his classmates believed, he didn't have the same lavish tastes that his uncle and father did. Growing up with two ruffians as best friends had taught him that sometimes the best things were the cheapest. Still, he hadn't thrived at the academy without learning the British way. His attire, a black suit with black tie, stated that in waves. As did the Walther PPK inside his side holster.

He took up another piece of his lunch and was about to dig in when he noticed something very interesting: two men, both eighteen at most, were walking towards the food stand where he had bought his pizza, laughing and talking like old friends. Unless he was quite mistaken, and the files he had on them both included inaccurate photos, one of those men was Alexander Harris. The other bore a striking similarity to his other friend from Louisiana, Remy 'Gambit' LeBeau. He decided to get their attention and whistled a tune their way, knowing that if it was them, then they'd recognize it. It had once been their signal to move when they were sneaking into places.

They both looked his way.

$£#

"Remy," Xander muttered as he and his friend stared at the older man in a suit, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking 'that limey bastard over there looks like Jimbo,' you'd be right," Gambit answered with a grin.

The two deviated from their original path and quickly came through the throngs of the crowd to the table where the suit had signaled them. He had familiar looking brown hair and brown eyes and was smiling. He stood as they reached within five feet of him, the smile never leaving his face.

"…Who are you," Remy asked first.

"Bond," he answered, "James Bond."

$£#

Buffy had been following the truck since it had left the school. It hadn't been difficult, not when you live in as small a town as Sunnydale. Xander ordinarily cut class in the library, not off with someone she'd never seen before. It was unlike him to go off with a total stranger like that. She felt certain that something was going on and she was adamant in her effort to find out. She had expected, of course, to have to rescue him from some sort of demonic sacrifice or to save him from some kind of major ass beating. What she found was far beyond her expectations.

She found her friend, Xander Harris, the Zeppo, as Cordelia had called him yesterday, sitting at one of the airport's many tables with the same man from earlier and a man with brown hair and eyes in a suit. They were all three chowing down on a plate of steaming pizza, talking and laughing about something she couldn't hear over the throng inside the room.

This was all becoming too much for the blonde Slayer. Xander was supposed to be the donut guy, the loser of the group. He was supposed to be their friend, not someone else's too. No, she decided, something must be wrong. This was just too…un-Xander. She just knew that something was wrong with her friend and she was determined to help him. It was better than to feel like she had somehow forced him out of their lives, especially when it was the more likely possibility when compared to something being wrong with him.

Sighing, she turned away and walked out the airport, vowing to fix things back the way they were.


	2. Purple Haze

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

"Let me see if I got this straight," James tried again to gain a grasp on this situation he suddenly found himself thrust into, "Demons and vampires are real, you hunt them, Xander, alongside a vampire Slayer, a werewolf, a witch, a Watcher, another vampire Slayer, and an ensouled vampire."

"That's right, Jimbo," Xander said as Remy drove them down the street, "Speaking of hunting, what did you bring with you? I mean, you must be on assignment if you're carrying your Walther around."

James looked down at his jacket and couldn't see how his friend had noticed his weapon. Xander must have sensed his questioning, for he explained himself easily.

"When you pulled out your money to help pay for the food, I saw it," he said, "Pay more attention when you're doing stuff like that."

"Ha, ha," James said, "Pick on the guy just out of training. And, yes, I am on assignment, though I can carry my Walther with me wherever I go…company policy. All my equipment's going to be shipped to me from Q-branch. Ordinarily, they give me all the stuff in briefing but, I mentioned I might be able to enlist some help and I convinced them to send a few extra materials in that case. The only way I could do that was by dropping my uncle's name a few times and, even then, they were a bit…dodgy to get it done."

"Can we keep 'em," Gambit asked.

James was surprised at that. Out of all the time he had known the thief, he had never once noticed a special talent for the rifle or pistol, at least, not compared to his own nowadays. Oh, well. It'd been nearly eleven years, he believed, people can change quite a bit in that time. After all, look at Xander. And Remy had had to leave his family to stop a war. Changes all around.

"Yes, you can," he answered, "And, if they make a fuss about missing hardware, I'll just put it down as MIA."

"What assignment are you here for, anyway," Remy asked.

"Yeah, this is a small dank corner of Hell," Xander said, equally curious about why MI6 had sent an AIT (Agent In Training) to the Hellmouth, "Literally. Why'd they send you here?"

"We got word from one of our informants in Central America that your Mayor, Richard Wilkins, has been doing some dirty dealings down there involving what is listed as 'handle with extreme care,'" the young spy said easily, "It's probably just a little dispute but, just in case, they sent me. I am top at the academy and it is a fair mission for a graduate. Just get in friendly with the Mayor and start from there."

"If it involves anyone in Sunnydale, then it might involve Hell," his friend said slowly, "After all, on my first fight, my only other male friend at the time got killed and turned. If someone like the Mayor might be a black hat, then things could get rough around here quickly."

"Think we should bring your friends into this," Gambit suggested, "If it is devilish, they might be helpful, eh?"

"No," James downed the idea immediately, "This is a top-secret assignment, and my first one, for that matter. I'm pulling enough risks as it is bringing you two into this, and it was only supposed to be Xander, anyway. I can't be pulling civilians into this from the start. I have to start investigating."

"Well, let's just assume that it is demonic," Xander said, "The best way to start investigating would be to hit the bars. Where are you picking up your stuff?"

"At the docks. They'll have some weaponry, gadgets, all that jazz."

"Then, we'll meet them at the docks, then go around to Willy's Bar. From what I heard, he was in the hospital but, it's still a good place to start up on information. From there, we'll search around the graveyards and work our way around there. I know you want for this whole thing to be non-demonic but, the odds of that are beyond reckoning."

"I'm still not sure I buy it," James said.

"Me, either, Xander," Remy agreed.

"Then, I'll show you."

$£#

"Hey, Will," Buffy said to her redheaded friend as she sat down at the library table, "Can you give me a hand?"

"Sure, Buffy," the witch instantly agreed, in spite of her disgruntlement towards her friend thanks to being kept away for Faith, "What's up?"

"It's Xander," she said and before her friend could start going into overdrive, she pressed forward, "He's not hurt. It's just…earlier today, I saw him outside, talking with someone in a brown leather jacket like Angel's," her tone of voice changed the instant she mentioned her beloved, causing Willow to momentarily forget her ire toward the Slayer, she was a romantic at heart, but Buffy recovered again as she continued, "They hopped into a truck and went to the airport, so…I followed them. They picked up someone in a suit. Willow, does Xander have any other guy friends?"

"Not that I know of," Buffy sighed in relief, so something was wrong with him, especially if Willow didn't know his new friends…but, then, "At least, not in this state."

"What," the Slayer asked immediately, fearing that her system had just failed her.

"Xander's not from Sunnydale," Willow stated casually, "He was born in Louisiana. I thought you knew."

"Never heard it before," she muttered, "Well, who were they?"

"He never told me," the witch said, "They left each other on bad terms, thanks to his dad."

"His dad," she asked, "What happened with his dad?"

"Still happening, Buffy," Willow said, a stern tone in her voice, "His dad's a bigot and a pig. Beats him up every night. Do you know anything about him?"

"…I know he used to date Cordy," she tried.

Willow sighed, totally unsurprised. The only thing that really mattered to her friend nowadays was her vampire and her Slayer friend, Faith. She began to gather her stuff, ignoring the looks of her friend as she did so.

"Go talk with him, Buffy," she said, "The only reason why I went along with keeping him out of the fight earlier was because an abusive father is better than getting killed. Go, learn something about him. I'll talk to you later."

Buffy stared off into space as she began to transmit all the new information into her brain. For once in her life, she had no idea what to do. She could either admit that she hadn't been the best friend to him, or she could just let it go. But, if she did that, then Willow would find out and press the issue further. Sighing, she decided to go ahead and get to Faith's for patrol. She could talk about it with her then.

$£#

Xander held his sword slung over his shoulder, ready for a downward strike at the first opponent to come at them. Gambit stood to his right, carrying a metallic stick and his cards and knives inside his gear. James stood to his left, his Walther equipped for when ready. They were walking down the docks that night, just a little bit after sundown. Up ahead of them was a tall crate and, in front of that crate, stood a tall woman dressed in a white lab coat.

"Evening, Zed," James greeted her as the trio came up to the crate, "Thanks for coming."

"Pleasure, James," the woman said easily, "Who're they?"

"This is Xander Harris," James pointed to him as he said this, "And Remy LeBeau," also, he indicated Gambit as he said this, "They're my civilian reinforcement."

"Still don't see how you managed to convince R, let alone M, to let that slide," Zed muttered, "Well, let's get this over with."

She reached into her coat and pulled out some sort of remote and pressed a button. It flashed red for an instant, then she moved away from the crate. The three guessed what was about to happen and quickly moved backward, barely missing the wall falling away. The two sides fell as well, revealing a black BMW styling of SUV.

"Your new car," she said with a slight smugness shared by all members of Q-Branch, "The BMW X3 model SUV. Technically, it's not even supposed to be out until 2005. Of course, technically, you aren't here right now. Naturally, we've made a few modifications: rockets behind the headlights, machine gun implants along the sides, a fingerprint activated vault along the dashboard, a miniature version of the Harrier jet propulsion system behind the plates, and a refrigerated beverage container. You know all the controls and can teach them to your aid, if you want to. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Remy said, "Two: why an SUV and can I get that in a motorcycle?"

"Second question: no," Zed said with a smile, "And, as to your first question, Sunnydale is surrounded by miles of desert. If a chase occurs, it would be wise to have a vehicle that can handle the terrain."

"What about conventional weapons," Xander asked.

"In the back," she stated, "There are two twenty gauge shotguns, with selective automatic or basic firing; two standard issue Walthers with laser sighting and equipped silencer; also, I heard rumors about things in this town that are…well, demonic, and I thought that, you know, just for laughs, I'd give you guys blessed bullets. There are six clips for the Walthers and a few rounds for the shotguns."

"You have no idea how much I am loving you right now," Xander stated honestly, "Very good."

"Good luck on your first assignment, James," Zed wished the young agent, "I'll let your uncle know you're alright."

"You do that," James said, and he walked up to the SUV and climbed into the driver's seat, "Who wants shotgun?"

"He does," Xander and Remy said at the same time, pointing to each other.

$£#

"So, what, you're telling me never!"

"Faith, this is not the time," Buffy cried as she tried to pry the vampire off herself.

"No, I'm serious, never ever!"

She groaned and launched a powerful punch at the vampire on top of her, sending it away. She leapt up and began to fight it as Faith managed to get up herself.

"How many times do I have to tell you," she threw another series of punches at it and sent it backwards a few feet, "I have…never…done it…with…Xander," she finished just as she drove her stake into its unbeating heart, "He's just a friend."

"Yeah, but what are friends for," Faith asked as the dust settled, "It's just, all this sweating-nightly, side-by-side action, and you never put in for a little after-hours ugh?"

Buffy stared at Faith with a mixture of disgust and oddity. Her and Xander? When Hell freezes over, maybe. Why was her sister Slayer bringing this up? She hadn't even mentioned what had happened earlier.

"Nice with the poetry," she tried, "But, no. I love Xander just, not in that way. Besides, I'm not real sure I know him that well."

"What," Faith asked suddenly, "What do you mean 'don't know him that well?' You're one of his best friends, B. Hell, I've known him for a few months, at the most, and I can tell a few things about him."

"Like what," Buffy challenged, she hated feeling like she was being kept out in the dark.

"Like, his family," she started, "Lot of bastards and drunks. And, his love life. Sucks beyond belief. And, he's got two cutie friends."

"What," Buffy asked, startled that she had already figured out what she herself had only begun to gain an inkling of, "How do you know about his two friends?"

"Saw them in the airport," the Bostonian answered, "Both of 'em are real cute, looks like they'd enjoy a good roll in the hay. But, saw them with the X-man, figured that they're geeks like him. Still, he was good. Maybe geek ain't such a bad thing."

"What," Buffy said, yet again, "What do you mean, 'he was good?'"

"Exactly what it sounds like, B," Faith sent a sexy smile at her, "Boy's not half bad in the sack. Bet his friends'd be better, though. Both of 'em must have experience, what with the hardware they're toting around. I mean, show me a lameass virgin who carries around a Walther or a…lameass virgin who carries around a deck of cards and throwing knives. And don't get caught by airport security. They got some experience on 'em, B. Makes me kinda surprised that they hang with him but, he was good. Maybe there's more to him than I know."

"…We need to find him," she said suddenly.

"What, why?"

"If he's with people who are armed like that, then he's got to be in danger."

"Didn't look like he was in danger," Faith muttered, "Jeez, B. Quit going on Nazi special."

$£#

Bond felt the fury of the battle as he watched Xander and Remy charge straight into the throng of the unholy beasts that his friend had described as vampires. He wasn't yet used to the feeling but, he knew it when he felt it. The white hot thrill of adrenaline, the aching for the pulse of the weapon to beat. It was an ecstasy all in its own right. He slowly leveled his shotgun at one of the creature's necks and opened fire.

Xander raised his sword high and brought it down against the first vampire's sword in a strike, which it expertly parried. He shook the blow off and made to stab it in its side, but once again felt the feeling of resistance that was commonplace with sword battles. He made another attempt at its other side and, this time, the dueling vampire failed to parry. He heard and felt the resistance of bone, marrow, and guts as his weapon went deep into the creature. It growled and snarled against the pain and, before it could retaliate, the young man brought his own blade up and sliced against its neck. It collapsed to the ground, dust reconnecting with the earth for a final time.

Gambit raised his pole in a defensive position to block the sword coming along his path, then involuntarily closed his eyes as he heard the shotgun blast behind him. He recovered his wits just in time to block another deadly blow from a sword and began to plot his next move. If his kinetic energy could be used in an explosive manner, then what would it do to vampires? He smiled as the thought went through his mind and blocked another onslaught. He took one hand away from his weapon and reached into his duster, blocking the blows as best as he could, and withdrew a ninja star. He focused his mind on the small disk and felt the flow of energy as it entered his weapon. He backed up a bit and swung his staff sharply to the left, allowing the swing that would have taken his arm off to force the blade into the ground. He threw the star as swiftly as he could and saw it strike true into the demon's heart. It seared a hole into it and he could see the black, beating mass. It nearly took his breath away. The kinetic energy forced the body to explode, turning the beast into dust. He smiled and balled his hand into a fist and thrust his arm up into the air.

Bond pumped another shell into the chamber and released one more shot against the vampires, causing another one to blow up in a cloud of dust. He smiled as he realized that there were none left. Then, he frowned as he heard something come up behind him. He felt something wrap its arm around his waist, then all he could feel was the burning of a blade up against his neck.

$£#

She had driven into the Hellmouth with the intention of finding her old battle buddy. She had been searching for three years now, to find him. During that time, she had trained hard. She parked her father's camper in the middle of the day, often, and trained as hard as she could. She would practice with the sword, the mace, the axe. She would use the cacti as targets for her crossbows and pistols. When she was hungry, she would stop by a diner and take advantage of her knowledge over the vampires to gain a free meal. She would use the blood of a virgin to lure them there, and when they attacked, she would kill them. That way, she got practice and a meal. No one had ever died during that, though some would be injured. Still, the end justified the means. She may not have thought so before but, people change.

So, it had been an oddity for her to drive up to the curb near one of Sunnydale's many graveyards and see three men fighting a group of vampires. One was standing back, using a shotgun to cut down the herd. It was obvious, by his movements, that he was still unused to the weaponry or the battle…but, it was more obvious by the fact that he was in a suit. One of the other two was dressed in a brown leather duster, and he held a metallic battle staff which he used to fend off blows. He had reached into his pocket and brought out, what appeared to be, a ninja star which seemed to glow after a moment. He had then flung it into its heart and it had combusted instantly.

The final one, however, was the most interesting. He had movements that she recognized from old war movies and held, out of all of them, the best stance when it came to fighting vampires. He guarded his neck with the utmost scrutiny, never once giving the enemy a chance to latch on. He used his weapon of choice, a sword, with minor skill. His build and height fitted him better for an axe but, he had a sword and wasn't shy about using it. He obviously had the most experience out of that group. She smiled as the last vampire was sent to Hell. No matter how often she saw a vamp die, it was always a joy to her.

Her smile, however, became a frown as she saw a vampire sneak up behind the suit.

$£#

Xander and Gambit turned around the second they heard James's yelp, the latter withdrawing a star as he did so. Standing behind the young spy in training was one of the vampires they had been killing, his blade held against Bond's throat.

"Put your weapons down," it demanded.

"Go to Hell," Remy responded without thinking.

"No," Xander stopped his friend, "Do what he says."

The thief stared at him in shock, but complied and slowly placed his staff on the ground. Xander followed suit and placed his sword beside the staff, then slowly stood up. He kept both arms at his sides, not wanting to give the vampire too much leverage before it died.

"Good," it said, "Now, me and your friend here are gonna be headin' off."

"Oh, I don't think so," Xander countered, "Look behind you."

The vampire glared at him, wondering if it was a trick, but knew it wasn't when he heard the sound of an arrow being loaded into a bow.

"I'd let go of him, if I were you," a feminine voice suggested.

The vampire knew, however, from the sound of the weapon that if she launched it at this range, it would ram into both him and the suit. It knew, also, that if it turned completely around to put some distance between itself, the boy, and the woman, it would get his head sliced off. So, it did the first thing that came to its mind: it twisted its own body around to see who it was without forcing the boy to move.

Bond realized what it was doing and acted. He gripped his shotgun tight and rammed it backwards into the vampire's side. It groaned against the pain and, before it could react, the young spy drove the butt of his weapon into its forehead. It flipped over onto its back from the sheer force and, before it could get up, the woman fired her weapon and the arrow embedded itself deep into its body. It turned to dust before it could even blink.

$£#

Xander and Gambit bent down and retrieved their weapons quickly as the woman reloaded her weapon. As a sign of peace, Xander sheathed his weapon and Remy placed his staff behind his back and used it to support his arms. James saw this for what it was and did not pump another shell into his shotgun chamber. The woman, however, did trail an arrow against them, though they could all see that the safety was on.

"We come in peace," Xander said in a squeaky voice.

"What the Hell was that," Remy asked.

"You know, from the movie," he sighed, "No one has any consideration for the classics."

"Shut up, please," the woman demanded from the window of her camper, though he could see a glimmer of a smile on her face, "Who are you?"

"Bond, James Bond," the young spy introduced himself.

"You do that too well, Jimbo," Gambit said, "LeBeau, Remy LeBeau. But, you can call me Gambit, _Cher._"

"Harris, Xander Harris," he finished off, "See! I can do it, too!"

"And just who are you," James asked politely.

She was smiling openly now and obviously thought that they were lunatics. A British gentleman, a bayou bastard, and a Californian boy were hunting vampires together without much worry or care. She couldn't remember when she had last been carefree. This was about as close as she had come in a long time. She slowly brought her smile down to a grin and put away her weapon. She left the window and walked outside her camper to meet them.

"Fuller," she introduced herself, "Kate Fuller."

For the most part, the three young men found it hard to not stare at her. She was dressed in a pair of low-cut brow jeans and a Nike sports bra, with knives and stakes all over her belt. She had on a pair of biker gloves that had silver crosses against her knuckles. A gold cross dangled from her neck, giving them the excuse to stare at it and claim they **weren't** staring at her cleavage…which, surprisingly, none of them were.

"Well, Kate Fuller," Remy started, "Just what exactly are you doing out here on this fine night in a camper?"

"Looking for a friend," she answered honestly, "Where's your car?"

"About two miles away," James answered, "Ran through the graveyards chasing down vampires. Would you mind giving us a lift?"

"Sure," she stated calmly, knowing that she could probably handle the trio, "Climb aboard."

$£#

Buffy and Faith had started off blindly, uncertain where to start looking for Xander. Then, they had heard the shots. They had taken off running without a moment's thought, going probably near twenty miles an hour through the tombstones to find out what was happening. When they reached the sight which held the scent of gunpowder, they could see a camper take off down the street.

"What the Hell is going on in SunnyD," Faith asked no one in particular.

"Don't know," Buffy took it upon herself to answer, "But, I mean to find out."

$£#

A/N Bestest List: Thanks. Glad to see I've been coming along. And, for the record, I am still trying to move along with 'The Grey League.' If I can get it back on track, I'm going to...but, writer's block ain't wantin' to move. If needs be, I will restart the series. Thanks for your support.

AS


	3. Twisted

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

"The Titty Twister," James asked.

"Yep," Kate answered as she continued her drive down the street.

"Never hearda it before," Gambit said.

He, Bond, and Xander were sitting in the back as Kate drove them to their car. They weren't too sure about what to do now that they knew her story. She was here in Sunnydale searching for her friend, Seth Gecko. From what her few resources had said, he was starting to hunt demons and vampires for a living. She figured, what better place to start than the Hellmouth?

"That's a good thing," she muttered, "Still the hottest vamp bar in Mexico."

"Ever thought of taking it down," Xander asked.

"Once or twice," she answered, "But, it'd be too hard. A lot of Masters hang around there now, keep the locals in check and bring the club back to its prestige. We'd need more firepower than I have."

"What about a rocket launcher," Xander suggested.

"…Fill the club up with dynamite," Kate muttered, "That'd work. Why? You got a rocket launcher?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly, "Got it out once to take down a demon called The Judge. Never returned it, though. Still got a few rockets to go with it."

"I'll think about it," she said, "So, what're three losers like you doing out hunting vamps at this time of night?"

"Someone's gotta do it," Remy said, "Me and Jimbo might be new to it, but Xand's a vet when it comes to this shit."

"You give me too much credit," he stated embarrassed, "Besides, Kate, you've been hunting these things longer than I have."

"You're right, but I never took on a demon like The Judge before," she countered, "And, just from the sound of him, he sounds like a ripe bastard."

"You took on hundreds of vamps," Gambit reminded, "By the way, who did you say this guy was? Seth Gecko?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"He was part of the escapees from the _Rising Sun_," Remy stated as he remembered something, "It was coming in to New Orleans before I left. A lot of people died during the uprising, and a lot of them escaped."

"Then, he's probably still off that way," Kate groaned, "Damn. Oh, well. I'll stick around anyway, at least for a month. I've been searching around for three years, and I never once heard he had been caught."

"Why are you sticking around," James asked.

"Not that we're not enjoying your company," Xander sent her a lopsided grin.

"And I'm enjoying yours, too," she said, her tone of voice displaying her meaning as friendly, "I'm saying that I'll stay in town, see if Seth makes his way here. Plus, I can start getting new supplies and check out your operation."

"It's not ours," the 'Zeppo' muttered, "There's a Slayer and her Watcher, along with several others who operate from the high school. I used to be a part of their group but, they basically threw me out of the fight."

"What do you reckon we should do," Remy asked, "I mean, outta all of us, Kate included, you do have the most experience. She may have been hunting longer but, she hasn't helped save the world, right?" At her nod of agreement, he pressed forward, "She's planning on staying for a while, I got nowhere else to go, Jimmy here has to stick around till he figures out what's up with the Mayor. We're in the same boat now. What do you think we should do?"

Xander opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. He had no idea what to do now that he was being asked. But, that wasn't true. He had become suspicious of the Mayor after he had allowed city hall to be used by those entranced bigots. At first, he had reasoned that it was because of the demons, but then, he had recalled hearing Willow's reactions to the whole event. She had said that Wilkins had held a…disagreeing face when talks arose of more involvement with the townspeople against demonic things. And now, what with James's new info about him, that just confirmed his suspicions. He knew what they had to do and he knew it wouldn't be easy, even with a mutant, a spy, a fellow demon hunter, and himself. The gang wouldn't listen to him, the only one who would even give him a chance would be Willow, and anything she could do would only make the Mayor suspicious. This required stealth. And also, Buffy wouldn't approve of him bringing new players into the field. The last thing he wanted was for one of their main warriors to be miffed against her fellow allies, it wouldn't make for good battlefield tactics and would endanger lives. So, he would simply have to keep her out of the loop till it was absolutely necessary.

"Give me a day," he said, "Remy, you and James find a place to crash for the night. Get some rest. Kate, are you willing to work with us?"

She nodded. Any time she got the chance to take down a demon, she leapt at it.

"Good. Would you mind taking James and Gambit in for the night?"

"Sure," she agreed, "They try anything, I'll shoot them with my bow in a soft spot."

All three involuntarily cringed at that, feeling the imaginary pain of a bolt through the crotch.

"Moving on," Xander muttered, "Meet me tomorrow at…"

He struggled for a moment, trying to think of the best place where they could meet. His house was off limits, for obvious reasons. He considered one of the crypts he knew in town but, the odds of them being full of vamps were too much. He didn't want to waste any ammo he didn't have to. He considered Angel's old flat for a moment but, it was too close to the Bronze. He didn't want any of them to meet the gang yet…or ever, perhaps. He didn't know, it all depended on what happened next.

What he needed was a place where they could stash things, where no one would bother to come and look for them. A place where they could hide in wait till the right moment. Suddenly, it came to him.

"Hand me a pen and paper," he motioned with his handed as he said this and Bond reached into his jacket and handed over what he required, "A little over a year ago, there was this weird dude called Ted. Robot, killed his wives. He owned this little workshop near the edge of town. When the cops took the bodies out, the city took control and tried to sell it off but, no one wanted it. So, it's pretty much trapped in zoning laws and shit. Meet me here at sundown, bring all your gear and equipment that you gather throughout the day. Sound good?"

"Works with me," James answered, "Though, why can't we just stay the night?"

"…Good idea," Xander agreed, "Kate, do you see a BMW SUV out there?"

"Yeah," she answered, "Just ahead."

"James, you and Remy drive behind me and Kate, we'll lead you there."

"Why can't I stay with the lass," Gambit asked, knowing what the true answer was.

"Because, if I'm leading you in a camper, then there's no chance you can lose us," he answered dryly.

"…That works," Remy muttered.

"See you in a minute," James said as she came to a stop, "You lead, we'll follow."

Xander nodded and kept silent as his two friends left the camper. As soon as Kate heard the SUV honk, she began to drive off.

"Take a right up here," he guided her.

"So, what's your story," she asked as she followed his instruction, "Why're your friends leaving you out of the fight?"

"Not sure," he answered, "I guess they just, one day, figured they'd had enough of saving my ass. Though, to be fair, I've saved their asses a few times, too."

"You don't sound too surprised by it."

"I'm not. I knew it was just a matter of time after last year."

"How'd you get involved in this, anyway?"

"…You know what a Slayer is?"

"Yeah, you mentioned one earlier. Some kinda supernatural demon killer. Kinda like She-Ra."

"Exactly, except, not half as hot. Well, Buffy at least. Faith's a bombshell."

"She your girl?"

"No. Well, she was my first, but…no, we're not together. Anyway, I was in our library at the high school when she came in. Our librarian just so happens to be her Watcher and, they talked shop, I heard. Later that night, I went to the Bronze and met her. My best friend, Willow, had been taken off by some vamp and we went to get her. When we got there, there were two vamps and they had Will and my other friend, Jesse. We escaped, ran around, and ended up getting caught again. Buffy came in, saved us, but…we lost Jesse. It was the next day before Buffy went to get him, and I followed."

"He was turned," it wasn't a question.

"…Yeah. That night, we had to stop a massacre. I killed Jesse during that battle."

"…I killed my brother to keep him from being turned, and Seth killed his brother to keep him from killing us. It's hard to do but, it needed doing. You did the right thing."

"I know. Ugh, turn left here."

"What's your home like, Xander? If you don't mind my asking."

"I mind the home, not being asked about it. Odds are you've seen worse than I can dish out personally, so, I don't mind sharing if you're willing to listen. Well, I think I can sum it up in a few short words: drunk, bigots, violent."

"Ah, that kind. Let me guess: drunk dad, mom in deep denial, carelessness, or too much in love to see it."

"Sure ain't any of those. She drinks and's usually passed out too much to notice."

"You ever thought of moving out? I mean, this place you're talking about sounds pretty good: no one wants it, no one comes around, and the city'd like to just forget about it. No one'd notice you missing from your home, or care, I'm guessing. Why not?"

"…I'll think about it. Ugh, it's on the left here, just a few miles up."

$£#

Xander smiled to himself as he left out the back entrance to the library. It was ridiculously easy to simply sneak around this place, even when there were two Watchers and two Slayers around. The three ones he knew were both a surprise and a non-surprise in the fact that he could sneak past them but, this new guy, Wesley, was a surprise. He figured that anyone straight out of the Watcher's…Academy, he guessed, would be capable of noticing him. He had potential and would need some training but, would eventually be able to match with them.

The Eliminati were the boys they had met last night, with one long sword and one short. That was interesting…he'd have to go by Willy's tonight, check up on his favorite barkeep. He smiled at the thought and turned down the street he knew would eventually lead him to the Harris residence. After a little bit of convincing from Remy, Jimbo, and Kate, he had decided to move out of his parent's house. He had also decided to go talk to Faith. She lived in, from what his blurred memory could recall, a place his folks wouldn't live in. He didn't wish that on anyone and was more than willing to give her a hand, if she was willing. He would have to be careful, though. If he invited her to stay with him and his friends, she'd assume it was about the sex. He had no doubts in his mind that that was the way her own mind worked. Sucked but, given her situation, understandable. He would need help from someone she didn't associate with sex. And, now that Wyndam-Pryce was in the picture, he'd either have to recruit the slightly older man or work his way around him. Right now, however, he needed an ally inside the Scooby Core and, considering that he had decided to go ahead and let them think they had forced him out, it would have to be someone else. Willow would cave into Buffy too easily. Giles was Buffy's father figure. He wanted to help Faith and couldn't make it seem like he was using her, it would only serve to drive her away. Oz would side with Willow. That left him the new guy.

"Joy," he muttered to himself.

$£#

Kate smiled as she examined the walls, all of which were covered with weaponry: rifles, daggers, crossbows, swords, maces and, her personal favorite, a special sword on the center rack. It was a basic wooden sword with two blades stuck along the sides; the perfect vampire hunting weapon.

"Hey," a burly clerk yelled at her, "Are you going to stand there, girlie, or are you going to buy something?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she reached into her pocket and withdrew several wads of cash, _Thank goodness for dumbass vamps_, "I'll have all of this," she spread her arms wide to indicate the room, "To go."

He smiled.

$£#

"Damn, this is boring," Remy muttered, causing James to nod in agreement.

He and Gambit were in the Sunnydale Hall of Records, looking up any information they might have on the Mayor. Ordinarily, agents went in undercover and worked their way around on the inside. Instead, MI6 had decided to just let him work his way around for his first mission. Give him some 'experience.' He chuckled at the thought, wondering how they would react to all his newfound knowledge. Thank goodness he had decided to activate his tie recorder during the fight that night.

He looked at a recent photo of the Mayor and compared it to one of the first Mayor, back nearly a hundred years ago. For a moment, he just stared, not really knowing what he was looking at. Then, just as he was putting the old photo away, he stopped and brought them back up. _No_, he thought to himself, _No bloody way._

"Remy," he called to his mutant friend, "Come here, please."

"What's up," Gambit wondered aloud as he stood and walked behind the young Englishman.

"This photo," Bond indicated the older one, "Was taken nearly a hundred years ago. This one," he indicated the colored one, "Was taken last week. Do you notice anything?"

"Yeah," the thief muttered, "They're frigging twins."

$£#

"Holy crap, Kate," Xander muttered as he and his new friend loaded some of the few belongings he wanted to take with him into her camper, "Did you buy the whole store?"

"Yeah, actually."

He stopped moving completely and stared at her, amazed that she had bought an entire arms market.

"How," he asked, carefully.

"Found a few thousand of a couple of vamps in LA," she answered, completely serious.

"Musta been a few hundred thousand," he commented as he stared around the camper, "What are you trying to do, fund an army?"

"Maybe," she muttered, "All depends on how bad the Mayor is."

He took a moment to think about her answer…then, nodded in agreement.

"I wanna go somewhere tonight," she stated and he locked the door.

"Only place I know of is The Bronze, and my friends hang around there."

"Why should that stop us?"

"…Alright. You wanna go?"

"Sounds good to me."

$£#

Buffy sighed in aggravation. She had tried to talk with Willow about Xander, but the redhead was still mad about her not knowing much about him. And about being kept out for Faith. Well, she had plans to go over and study with her friend tonight. She would smooth things over then and talk to her about their friend. Who hadn't hung with them today, period. It was…odd and scary, now that she actually had to live without him…and just for one day. She wondered what it would be like without him. She couldn't imagine it…she refused to imagine it. If those people he had associated himself with would dare try to take him away, then she would stop them.

$£#

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce," Xander greeted the new Watcher with respect, "Hi. I'm Xander Harris, one of Buffy's friends. I know about what goes bump in the night."

"Oh," this took the Englishman back a bit but, he quickly recovered, "Um, well, how can I help you, Mr. Harris?"

"Well, Buffy and I've had something of a…falling out," Xander decided to head straight for the truth, "And, we're not on the best of speaking terms."

"I don't make it my business to involve myself with my charge's personal life," he said.

"And I'm not asking you to," he said, "All I'm asking of you is that you keep me informed about the demonic threats. I am a part of this war and will remain that way, and I would like to know that I still have one friend amongst the group. What do you say?"

Wesley hesitated. He knew that something must have happened in order for this upstanding young man to be kept out of the fight and, he didn't consider it wise to involve himself with someone who had fallen out of the Slayer's graces. However, he understood the feeling of being kept out. He knew that they were doing that with him and severely disliked it. This caused him to feel a slight kinship with the young man. Plus, Mr. Harris was the only one of the group who had treated him with any respect period. And, he was including Mr. Giles's behavior. Granted, the usual hazing was expected and he was Rupert's replacement, so he understood a small level of hostility but, not the palpable waves he had been receiving from the Slayers.

"…Uh, very well, Mr. Harris," he agreed.

$£#

"The trick to pool is knowing where your shot is going to end up," Remy bent down over the table and aligned his stick with the cue ball and prepared to make his shot, "Hit it at precisely the right angle, and it will go wherever you want it to go."

He pulled back and struck the white mass smartly, sending the seven straight out into the left corner pocket.

"Not bad," James muttered, "Where're Xander and Kate?"

"Ain't that them right there," Gambit asked, indicating the mirror behind him.

James turned around and looked into the mirror, then turned back around to see that their friends were, indeed, coming into the Bronze.

"I like cards better," Remy muttered, "I can handle pool alright but, cards are my specialty."

"Hey, guys," Xander greeted them, "Sorry we're late. Had to make a stop."

"What're we playing," Kate asked.

"Cards," Remy said as he tossed the stick down, "I haven't played a game of poker in an age."

"I spent all my money today on your weapons," Kate scolded the thief, "So, you're spotting me a few bucks."

"And, neither you, nor Xander are cheating," James stated.

"What about you," Xander asked, "We helped teach you how to cheat at poker."

"Yeah, but I'm just too good to cheat," Bond said with a smug smile.

"So, whaddya say," Remy asked as he sat down at a table, "Poker, aces wild?"

"Sounds good," Kate said.

$£#

"Wes," Xander greeted the young Watcher as Giles left, "I wanted to check something with you, so the guys'll be aware."

"What would that be, Mr. Harris," Wesley asked the young man.

"Please, call me Xander," he insisted once again, "And, you remember how I mentioned how I was doing some research on the Mayor?"

"Yes, I seem to recall," he said and motioned for Xander to take a seat.

"Well, I did some research and found this," Xander reached into his bag and withdrew the two photos that Remy and James had found, "Compare these two pictures and tell me what you notice."

The Englishman took the photos and stared at them inquisitively before gasping as realization hit him.

"They're the same person," he muttered, "How?"

"I wish I knew," the young man answered, "But, I'm doing some more research into it. I want you to say that you began a more extensive search into the town and discovered this. Send Buffy and Faith in to do some recon."

"Yes, good idea," Wesley agreed immediately, "Um, there is still the matter of Balthazar and his amulet. I need to put it in a safe place."

"Give it over to me," Xander suggested, "I know a few places where it'll be safe."

"…Alright," he reached into his jacket and pulled the piece out.

"They won't find it," the young man said as he placed the amulet into his pocket and, for some reason, the British Watcher found himself believing him, "As for Balthazar, I've been hearing rumors that he's around. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that he is. We have a friend here named Angel, he's a vampire with a soul. Odds are he knows about it already and will tell Buffy about it but, just in case he doesn't, I want you to do it. While you're doing this, I'll be researching the Mayor some more and I'll be sneaking into his offices. Sound good?"

"Very good," Wesley said, "However, I believe it would be best to withhold the information concerning the Mayor until you come up with something a bit more convincing, if nothing less than to alleviate any objections that either Faith or Buffy may have."

After a moment, the young man nodded in understanding.

"It makes sense," he uttered with a grim smile, "Wish them luck for me, will you?"

"I will, Mr.-…Xander, and the same to you," that being said, the youth turned away and walked out the library.

$£#

"How come your eye twitches every time I say Faith's name," the blonde Slayer asked, although she was already aware.

"None of your business," Xander snapped, "Listen, I really don't care about your 'Ode to Faith' thing going on. I'm highly caffeinated and trying to concentrate. Some of us actually care about school."

He shifted his eyes over to Willow to indicate his meaning. For once, she got it. She settled down and began to take her test when she remembered about Xander's two new friends. She was about to turn around and confront him about them when she heard a rapping at the window. All eyes immediately turned to it and saw Faith open the window up and lean inside.

"Hey, girlfriend, bad time?"

She backed away and breathed hot air onto the window, placed both her index fingers against the smudge, and moved them around until she made a heart. She used one more swipe of her finger to create the image of a stake impaling a heart. In a final move, she smiled at Buffy and bounced her eyebrows up and down. Buffy didn't think longer than a second before she got up and went to the window.

"What," Willow was in panic mode, "S-she can't! Can she?"

Faith stared at her for a second before closing the window. She began to follow Buffy away from the room, but stopped for one second to stare at Xander. He met her gaze unwaveringly, causing her to lick her lips sensually. Finally, after he felt his body temp rise to nearly a thousand degrees, she moved on. He waited about ten seconds before turning back to his test and Christmas treeing the answers. He stood up, turned it in, and went to the door.

"What, you're going too," Willow asked, once more in a panic.

"Hey, I'm done, and I got a free for the rest of the day," he said with a lopsided grin and walked out the door.


	4. Sneaking Around

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

James and Remy sat in the bushes outside City Hall, waiting for the right time. They were both dressed in black gear with their faces painted black and were armed with stakes, knives, and each a silenced pistol.

"The fire ladder on the east side of the building," Bond went over the plan again, "Will lead us up to the roof where there's a skylight that leads into the conference room. We sneak in through there, then make our way to the Deputy Mayor's office."

"Why not the Mayor's," Gambit asked.

"Because, we don't have a clue what he is," James reminded his friend, "Whereas, Finch is most certainly human. You pick the lock, then lock it for us once we're inside. From what the satellite got, there's a copier inside the room we can use."

"Spy satellite," the thief asked with a smile.

"Pays to be one," Bond said with a grin, "I'll hand them to you, you copy them, and I'll put them back. After that, we escape out his window."

"Works for me," Gambit said, "When do we move in?"

"During the next guard shift," he answered, "They'll be starting in about…twelve minutes."

"Great, more waiting."

$£#

Xander and Kate stood in the rafters above the first floor of the Bronze, staring down into the crowd that was slowly circulating around the two Slayers. They were dancing like some of the strippers had in the Titty Twister, putting some of them to shame even, as far as Kate was concerned.

The 'Zeppo' turned his attention to the other figure watching them. Angel was standing off the floor, nearly underneath them, looking on in deep concern. He sympathized with the undead bastard, he knew how it felt. The only deference was, Deadboy didn't deserve it. He had, and Cordelia knew it. It must feel a whole lot worse. Sighing, he looked back at the two Slayers and saw Buffy extricate herself from the crowd and run over to Angel.

"Perky, isn't she," Kate muttered as she leapt up into the air and into Angel's arms.

"Only with Faith and Angel," he muttered, "Time?"

"Shift changed…just now," the demon huntress answered as she stared at her watch.

"Good luck to them," he said, "Would you like to dance?"

"Why, yes," she said with a smile, "I would."

$£#

"Go," James whispered over to Remy.

The two leapt up and ran across the pavement as fast as they could and hit the wall of the building within five seconds. They paused momentarily to insure that they hadn't been seen and, upon confirming their status as 'unseen,' they moved silently along the wall until they came to the fire ladder. Remy reached up, being the taller of the two, and pulled down the ladder easily. He held it for a second and allowed the agent the right to climb up first. Bond nodded and placed his foot along the first bar, then began to pulled himself up. A few seconds later, he could feel Gambit come up behind him.

As he reached the roof, he pulled himself over the wall and came to his feet. He checked quickly to make sure that it was clear, pulling out his pistol as he did so. Once he was certain, he went back to help his friend up.

"So far, so good," Remy muttered as he came over the wall.

James kept silent, not wanting to curse them. He moved on quickly and came to the window. He pocketed his weapon and used both hands to unlatch the pane. Remy got up behind it and made sure that it made no noise as it came down. Once he was certain it was ready, he pulled out a fishing wire and wrapped it around the frontal bar.

Bond reached into his gear and pulled out a small pistol. He activated the laser sight on it and aimed it at the wall. He moved it slowly along the wood until he saw the laser turn green, then took a slow breath to steady his hand. As he let it out, he fired and prayed no one would hear. He needn't have worried, though. The small grappling hook silently imbedded itself into the stud behind the wall, as it had been designed to do. He moved quickly and hit the pulling system that kept the wire taught, then attached it to the ledge of the window. He pulled on it several times to insure it was safe, then reached back into his gear. He pulled out two small bars and attached one to the wire, made sure it was secure, then tossed the other over to Remy. He nodded once to make sure the thief was ready and, upon his responding nod, the spy drew in a slow breath, got up along the pane, and leapt into the room.

He felt his body pull over to the left as his weight automatically centered itself. He let go of the bar almost instantly and landed on the floor in silence. He looked up as he heard something hit the floor and smiled in satisfaction as he realized that the bar had snapped off the line the second it had felt the pull of his body disappear. Another success from Q-Branch. He looked up and ducked down as Remy let go of his own bar and landed on the floor, as silent as the spy had been.

Bond went over to the grappling hook and stroked the wall around it until he heard a click and saw the hook come in on itself, freeing it from its place. He grabbed it before it could snap back to the pistol itself and held it tight to keep the weapon in place. He looked over to Remy, who was holding his wire with a steady hand, waiting for affirmation. The spy nodded and Gambit pulled down on the wire, going backwards as he did so, and the two looked up to see the window come back down. It would have slammed down against the pane, had it not been for the wire. James slowly moved towards the window and leapt up onto the table, then steadily allowed the wire to come further to the pistol he had used. He stretched out as far as he could, then jumped up as high as he could. He felt his hand touch the wall just below the window and let go of the wire, allowing it to stay positioned inside the window.

"Think anyone will notice," Remy whispered his question as James straightened himself.

"Doubtful," Bond answered in a hushed voice, "Leave it there. If we come into a situation and can't use the window at Finch's office, then this'll be our alternate route."

Gambit nodded in understanding and the two quickly gathered the bars that had been dropped onto the floor and made for the door. They each put their ears up against it to see if they could hear anything. Bond raised three fingers to Remy and the thief gripped the door handle, waiting for the right moment. The spy, as he pulled one finger back to his hand, reached into his gear and withdrew his silenced weapon. He pulled another finger down and waited an extra second, then pulled the final one down. Remy jerked the door open and allowed James to go first. He moved out of the room quickly and scanned the area, his pistol always aimed in front of him, then nodded to Gambit to let him know it was good.

The thief moved out of the room and closed the door behind him. He turned his head both ways to make sure no one could catch them by surprise, then turned down the hallway and silently approached the office. He could sense more than hear his friend behind him and smiled underneath his black mask of paint. It was good to know someone had your back.

Upon seeing the door marked 'Allan Finch, Deputy Mayor,' he came down to his knee and gently twisted the knob to see if it was unlocked. It wasn't, confirming that Finch was not working late. He reached into his gear and pulled out one of the best tools to the streetwise thief: a paper clip. The door was open in under ten seconds. Gambit came to his feet and opened the door, went inside, and got behind it. Bond kept his pistol up as he entered the room and, once he was completely inside, Remy closed the door and relocked it.

"I'll take the filing cabinets, you take the desk," Bond whispered.

Remy nodded and began to go through the files.

$£#

Xander moved his body to the beat as best as he could. Unfortunately for him, he had little to no sense of rhythm. The only reason why he could recognize the beat and the motion was because of his soldier memories. Dance and drill, thankfully, shared a lot of attributes. He swayed more and more, focusing on his hips in his motions, and looked up. Kate was mirroring his dance in a basic movement, informing him that she could dance about as well as he could…literally. He smiled and decided to go a little crazy.

He began to move his arms inanely, wondering how far he could carry this. She, of course, followed him, believing that it was part of the dance. He flipped his leg out in something resembling the Hokey Pokey and was still astonished that she hadn't guessed it yet. So, he decided to go above and beyond. He flipped his arm over his head and performed the Vulcan hand sign. And, he swore to God, she was about to do the very same thing before she realized it.

"You're being stupid, aren't you," she asked with a smile.

"No," he lied, wiggling his eyebrows, "I'm just moving with the beat."

"Some beat," she giggled.

He was about to say something when he noticed a very…odd thing. Wesley was walking towards them, a look of confusion on his face. He could tell, however, that it was more for show.

"Hey, Wes," he greeted the young Watcher with a grin, "What's up?"

"Why did you just do the Vulcan sign out there," the Englishman asked.

That explained the confusion.

"I'm an idiot," Xander said, "Let's get off the dance floor, huh? I think some people are beginning to want it back."

Wesley took a quick look around and found that his young friend's assessment wasn't that far off. He quickly turned around and walked back to where he had been basically ignored by Buffy and Angel. He took a quick look behind him and saw Buffy and Faith walk out the Bronze, immediately thankful that neither had noticed his young friend. He turned to Xander and was about to begin talking when he noticed a pretty brunette girl sitting down beside him.

"Ugh, hello," Wesley greeted, "My name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

"Kate," she introduced herself.

"She's with me," Xander stated, "She's been fighting vamps longer than Buffy."

He nodded in understanding and took a seat across from the young man and woman.

"Angel came here to speak with Buffy," he stated and, though he could tell from their faces that they were already aware of this fact, neither did anything to interrupt him, "He informed her that Balthazar was in a warehouse on Devereau. She and Faith just left to get there."

"Good," Xander muttered, "My two friends are out getting the info. They should be finishing up soon."

"Excuse me, Xander," the Englishman politely interrupted, "But, I thought you were working alone."

"And I meant for you to think that, that is, until I was certain I could trust you. When you didn't automatically hand me over to Buffy, that won you a lot of trust. Then, you just finished informing me of this. You've earned all my trust."

"T-thank you," Wesley was utterly speechless; he had never had someone tell him, at least not in Sunnydale, that they trusted him. It was a grand moment of clarification for him, the beginning of his life in this great world. This boy and his friends had something that few young people ever did: purpose. He would not betray that purpose and vowed to help both him and his charges. If, however, the conflict came between Xander and his Slayers then…well, it all depended on what the conflict itself was about.

"We're going to follow them," his young friend stated, "You get back to the library and be ready. We'll fax you what we find and, if you would, please look up the information."

He nodded and stood up, shook Xander's hand, and bowed respectfully to Kate, as his British mentality required. He walked away, wondering what would happen next.

"Come on," Kate said suddenly, "They just finished up. We can use the payphone and give them the library fax number…you do have it, don't you?"

"I do," he answered, "I just hope they have a fax machine at hand."

$£#

"That's it," Bond muttered, "Two copies of everything, tucked away between the two of us. If one of us gets caught, then the other will have the same thing."

Before he could continue, he felt something vibrate in his gear. He reached into his vest and pulled out his cell phone.

"Bond," he whispered.

"Jimbo," Xander greeted him, "You done?"

"Just need to leave," he confirmed.

"Do you have a fax machine on hand?"

"Yeah," he took a brief look around the office as he said this and his eyes immediately caught sight of the needed item, "You want me to fax the papers?"

"I'm sending you a number," his friend answered over the line, "Send it there marked for Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

Bond nodded at the British name and typed the sequence of numbers into the machine, then loaded in the required pages.

"And, they're sent," he whispered.

"How long will it take?"

"About…seven minutes."

"Good. When you're done, meet us over on Devereau, near a warehouse grouping."

"See you then," the agent hung up.

$£#

Xander and Kate moved quickly down the street, thankful that they had decided to not take the camper with them. It would draw way too much attention if it were traveling down a rank street like this.

"What was that," he asked suddenly.

Kate said nothing but he could tell she had heard it as well. The sound of breaking glass. The two quickened their pace, wondering if there was a fight to be fought up ahead. They came to a corner and Kate got in front of him, holding up a hand to stop his movements. She slid along the wall and waited. He pressed himself to the wall beside her, wondering what she had heard. He knew the second he heard the gunshot.

Kate poked her head out from behind the wall and looked to see what it was.

"Squad car," she said to him, "Looks like someone tried to break into a shop."

"Switch," he muttered.

Kate backed up a little and Xander went around her. He leaned against the wall and slowly leaned forward so he could see what was happening. About a minute later, two police officers came out of the store, with two extremely familiar looking women in toe.

"Damn it," he muttered, "They got Faith and Buffy."

"Xander," Kate poked him in the back and motioned behind her, where a black SUV had just pulled in.

He said nothing, but ran as fast as he could to the vehicle. Kate followed him as best as she could, though he was easily outpacing her.

"Hey," James greeted them as they came to the vehicle, "What's wrong?"

"Drive," Xander ordered as the two climbed aboard, "Cop car, got Buffy and Faith."

James nodded and turned down the alleyway. He drove slowly, so as to not look suspicious, and came out to the street just as the two officers were beginning to travel up it.

"Hey," one of the cops called, "Move out of the way."

James smiled and reached into his gear, then withdrew a silenced pistol, along with what looked to be some kind of ID card.

"Stand down," he ordered the two before they could reach for their weapons and he tossed the card into their window, "MI6, British Secret Service. These two are going to be released into my custody."

For a moment, the two looked like they were going to fight it but, then they recalled how much fun it had been to take them in and imagined how much more fun it would be to get them through the system.

"They're yours," the driver said.

Bond smiled and motioned for the passenger side cop to get out. He did so and walked to the back seat. Bond kept his weapon trailed on the two so they wouldn't try anything stupid.

"Oh, by the way," he started saying, "Underneath the Official Secrecies Act, you are bound to not report this incident to anyone. This never happened. Understand, gentlemen?"

The officer stepped back to allow Buffy and Faith room to leave and nodded. The driver nodded as well. Bond smiled and motioned for the two to get inside the car. They hesitated for a moment, still rubbing their now-free wrists, but eventually began to move. The dark haired one called Faith looked as though she were about to say something but, forgot what it was once she got a good look at him. He walked over to the back door and opened it up for them. They climbed inside the back as best as they could and he closed the door as Buffy pulled her leg inside.

"Goodnight, officers," he said to the two men, "And I'll be taking my card back, please?"


	5. Massing

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

Buffy Summers was having, arguably, one of the worst nights of her life. First, she and Faith go out and try to get some weapons for the upcoming battle, only to get caught by the police. Then, to make things more humiliating for herself, Xander's friends showed up and one of them posed as a British agent to get them out of trouble. They were doing everything they could to separate him from the group, and it was working well. In order to bring him back into the fold, she was going to have to lay down the law.

"Xander Harris," she said to him in a tone that meant he was in trouble, "I don't know what your game is, but you are going to have this lunatic drop us off and then, you are going to explain yourself!"

For a moment, all eyes, save the driver's, were on her. Then…

"Man," Bond muttered to himself, "I can see why you wanted out, Xand."

"We save her from the cops, and this is the thanks we get," Remy muttered in disbelief, "We get ordered around and talked down to. Figures. I leave to get away from this in New Orleans, come right back to it in SunnyD. Is there no justice?"

"We feel for ya, Remy," Xander said with a grin, "Although, you do have to admit, Jimbo, she does have a good point about you being a lunatic."

"Ain't that the truth," Kate smiled 'innocently' at him.

"Are you making fun of me," Buffy was baffled by their attitude.

"She caught on," Kate said, waving her hands around frantically, "The end is near! The big, bad Slayer knows we're making fun of her."

Buffy opened her mouth, about to shout at the unknown girl, when she heard some snickering.

"Faith," she turned her attention to the Dark Slayer.

"Face it, B," she was grinning from ear to ear, "They got a point."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you," Xander said theatrically, "FAITH, THE VOICE OF REASON!"

"Thank you, thank you," Faith mock bowed, "I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the academy for their rescuing me and B from the fuzz."

"'The fuzz,'" Gambit questioned, his eyebrows raised.

"I saw it in a movie once," Faith defended herself.

"Enough," Buffy interrupted, bringing the attention back to herself, "Xander, who are these people?"

Xander stared at her for a moment, sizing her up, then turned his gaze back to the front of the car. He made eye contact with James and Gambit for a moment, then again with Kate. All smiled at the look of mirth in his eyes.

"Bond," Jimbo started, "James Bond."

"LeBeau," Gambit picked up, "Remy LeBeau."

"Fuller, Kate Fuller," she finished.

"She was right on the money when she said 'lunatic,'" Faith muttered playfully.

"You must be Faith," Remy said back to her, "Seeing as how that's what Xander called you. You can call me Gambit."

She looked at him oddly, but smiled all the same.

"What was with the bit about being a secret agent," Buffy asked.

"It wasn't a bit, you bint," James was pissed now, "I am a secret agent."

"Wicked," Faith said, "X-man, I didn't know you had friends this cool. Always thought it was just B and Red."

"It was," Buffy muttered under her breath.

"Well, it ain't no more, B," Faith said, having heard her perfectly, "So, what's up with the combat gear?"

"Paintball," Remy explained casually, "I love the sport, and it's standard issue in the British service for field training, so we went to play a game in their urban court. Joined a team, kicked their asses!"

Xander grinned inwardly at Gambit's ability to make up a story on the spot. His skill for that had only grown in the time he had been away. He turned his attention back to Buffy, who looked as though she was begrudgingly accepting the explanation, though she was trying to find a flaw in it. He knew that the next step had to be taken carefully, so as to not reveal Wesley's involvement with things or to cripple their operation. It was imperative to not reveal James's true intentions here, and to insure that their base wasn't revealed. He made eye contact with Bond and saw that the agent was thinking along these same lines. It's not that he didn't trust Buffy, it's just that…she tended to think along the lines of 'me, me, me' nowadays, if it wasn't 'Angel, Angel, Angel.' The odds were that she'd want to take control of the small group the second she knew what was going on and, he really didn't want her to start getting bossy. Kate, Gambit, or James would shoot her the second she started mouthing off at them, Hell, they would right now if it weren't for the car thing. Wait…

"Hey, James," he called up to the front, "When do you get off leave?"

"Not till the end of the month," Bond stated casually, "Why?"

"Care to go _flying_ through the desert?"

James took a quick look at him, checking to see if he was serious, then smiled at the look on Xander's face.

"Attention, Passengers," he spoke into a pretend radio, "This is your Captain speaking, we will be experiencing turbulence, so please fasten your safety belts and hang on tight."

He stepped on the gas and, before long, the SUV was out of Sunnydale and in the desert. James twisted off of the freeway and drove around until he found a hill.

"Hold on," he called back as he pressed down on one of the buttons on the wheel.

As the vehicle rose off the hill, he applied more pressure to the button. On the back of the vehicle, the license plate flipped around, revealing a small jet engine, barely large enough to elevate the vehicle, thus explaining why it could only work for a limited amount of time. As the SUV rose up into the air, the engine kicked in.

$£#

A short while later, as the vehicle was being driven back into Sunnydale, the group held a mixture of expressions. James was smiling at his successful flight, the first one he'd ever taken. Remy was clutching onto the seat, grateful to any being above or below that he had made it through alive. Kate was smiling like a fool, still rushed with adrenaline from the flight. Faith was an echo of Kate. Buffy was clutching the seat in fear, thankful that it was over. Xander was just staring ahead, his mouth wide open. Finally, he took a breath.

"…WOW."

"Holy shit, English," Faith said, giddy, "That was awesome. Can we go again?"

"Out of fuel," James said, smiling at her comment.

"You OK, Buff," Xander asked.

She nodded her head slowly, completely in a world all her own.

"Is she alright," Kate asked, though she wasn't really concerned.

"She's fine," Xander said with a grin, "She just realized what it's like driving with her."

"Next stop, Sunnydale High," James called out, "I'll drop you off. And, please, don't say a word to the Watchers. What I just did could get me suspended."

Faith nodded emphatically, agreeing to keep her silence. Buffy just continued to stare forward, still too shocked to form a complete thought. He smiled slightly and pulled over as they arrived at the high school. Xander and Kate got out first to allow Faith passage, seeing as how Buffy still wasn't in any condition to move. She came around to the other side and pulled her out of the vehicle, then guided her back to the sidewalk.

"I won't say a word," she grinned to all them, then blew a kiss Xander's way, leaving him with a blush as they pulled away.

"I think she's interested," Kate said with a grin.

"Way to go, Xander," Remy said back, finally confirmed in the fact that they weren't going to be airborne anytime soon.

$£#

"Olvikan," James stated as he read the file in his hand, "A giant snake, basically."

"This bites," Xander groaned, "We have to take on a damn snake for graduation! Can my life ever get good?"

"Not necessarily," Kate interjected, "According to the file, he won't be invulnerable until tomorrow night. We can kill him before then."

"…We may well have to," Xander agreed.

"This page talks about someone called Trick," Remy said, handing a file over to Xander, "You know him?"

"It's the guy that tried to kill the Slayers," Xander remembered from Buffy's stories, "Mr. Trick, a Master Vampire. Bond, find an address on him."

James nodded and left the underground apartment to go get his laptop out.

"Remy, I want you to start spying on the Mayor tomorrow afternoon, when his meetings are over. He'll have to wait till then to start any demonic crap."

"Sure, boss," Gambit said, completely serious.

"Kate, you and me are going to work together to plan this attack. I'm playing hooky tomorrow, for a while, so, we'll wait till then. Everyone, get some sleep."

$£#

Buffy felt as though she was in some kind of a dream world. Contrary to belief, it wasn't because of the ride; it was because of what was said. They claimed that she was ordering them around and talking down to them, and they were right. _It was, is, part of my Slayer mentality, my calling,_ she told herself at night,_ that I be the one to call the shots._ As she had told herself that, however, she was reminded of three things, things that scarred her male friend for life: that time she had used him to make Angel jealous, one of the worst things she had ever done, in her book; when she had come back to try and save her friends and he had threatened her if Willow got hurt; and, her most recent triumph, when she had forcibly removed him from the slaying.

She realized, though she still didn't want to believe it, that he had every right to not want to be associated with her. She had used him to make Angel, a man that he had hated from the beginning, and who he was jealous of, jealous himself. That had to hurt. She knew, she had gone through the same thing back in LA. She hated herself for it, and, even though he had forgiven her, she had never apologized. Then, in payment for his wanting to defend Willow, she convinced the redhead to keep him out of the fight. And her keeping him out of the fight had gone completely against what was best. If he had been there, things might have turned out differently, for better or for worse. He may have been able to prove himself during it. She owed him a lot, after all, he had given her her life back. She'd saved his a few times, definitely, but he hadn't hesitated to get into the fight, not one bit. Could she claim the same?

That was why, when Wesley and Giles had asked why they were so late getting back, she had lied. She owed him her confidence, at least. He had new friends now, ones that treated him like an equal from what she had seen, not like she and Willow, at her behest, had. If anything, he deserved time away from them. They deserved to be left by him.


	6. Torn

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

Xander sat inside his math class the next day, carefully retracing the plan throughout his mind. Jimbo had found Trick's address and was currently tracking him. Remy was doing the same, but for the Mayor. From what the Cajun thief had told him over the fun a few hours ago, the Mayor was just having an ordinary day: greeting scouts, attending union meetings, all that jazz. It was weird, having an enemy that also did 'good' things. He unconsciously sighed and came to grips with what was about to happen. Wherever the ritual to turn him into the final stage of his evolution in Olvikan was taking place, that was where he and his friends were going to be. Faith and Buffy (it didn't slip his mind either, how he had unconsciously placed Faith ahead of Buffy) were going to be taking the demon Balthazar tonight, alongside Angel, most likely. Wesley had researched all night and they knew that time was of the essence. They had to destroy him before midnight, or it was too late.

"Why is it always midnight," he muttered to himself aloud.

"That's a very good question, Mr. Harris," he heard Mister Goldman say with a surprised grin, "The answer is, as you said, midnight."

He felt eyes on the back of his head and turned around, noticing immediately that both Willow and Buffy turned away. He had noticed that Buffy had never mentioned the joyride and had taken it as her realizing what her actions had done. Either that or, she had been too shocked by the car. He couldn't care less. After the way she had acted to him and his friends when they had saved her ass, he had pretty much come to the conclusion that any friendship that they had had was basically destroyed and, by extension, so was his with Willow. Though, she had also noticed Buffy's behavior and was trying, though not half as hard as a stranger could, to change it. The main thing was that Buffy was trying to bury the issue. She wanted it forgotten, in spite of whatever feelings she had had or conclusions she had come to, she couldn't get over herself. Fine.

He sighed in content as the bell rang, freeing him from the horrendous thing known as school. Long before anyone else was ready, he was out the door. He reached his locker quickly and withdrew his folder filled with all the research they had done. As he took the folder out and closed his locker, he felt eyes on his shoulder.

"Xander," the voice belonged to Willow, "We need to talk."

He sighed and turned his head to his lifelong friend, grateful that she was alone.

"What'd she tell you," he asked immediately.

"That you and your friends saved her and Faith last night," she answered, making him feel better instantly as he realized that maybe things weren't so strained, "Then, that you all made fun of her."

He felt his hope die.

"We did," he answered without hesitation, "After she started talking down to us and ordering us around, like she was a general or something."

"I figured," that took him by surprise, "I'm her best friend, Xander. I have to be on her side about a bunch of things, even when I don't agree."

"Angel?"

She nodded, her face grim.

"I went with her to end it all," she stated coldly, "I knew, just as you did, that she wouldn't ever be able to kill Angel…Angelus. So, I did the only thing that I could do. I'm not like you, Xander. I'm not brave enough to take the fight to him."

"I didn't," he countered.

"You wanted to," he looked down, knowing she was right, "And the only reason you didn't was because you didn't want to lose Buffy as a friend. I get that, really. I feel like I've lost her, and…worst of all, to herself. And Faith and Angel but, I knew I couldn't compete with either. I feel so…replaced."

"How do you think I felt when I was told to keep away," he asked her, his eyes filled with pain.

"I know," she said with a grimace, "I wanted, so badly, to stick up for you, but…I couldn't. I don't even know why, really. I just…thought that Buffy was right. I see, now, how it is on the other side…and I wouldn't wish it on you."

He smiled at her, a look of understand gracing his features. He wordlessly drew her into a hug, ignoring the looks of his peers and his teachers as he did so. He could feel her smile.

"I missed you," he told her.

"I missed you, too," was her answer.

Across the hall, a blonde girl watched the exchange, her features unreadable.

$£#

Buffy stared across her bed at her friend, uncertain as to what to say. She had intended on keeping her out of this fight but, she didn't know if she could. In her mind, before she had heard Willow's confession, she had believed that only those with a duty deserved to be in the fight. At first, she had identified her duty to powers: Slayer, werewolf, Watcher, witch, ensouled vampire, Zeppo. In her mind, the Zeppo, being powerless and, therefore, useless, should be let go. Oddly enough, she had had no problem doing so. Then, she had identified those deserving as those who had a true reason to be in the fight. Neither Willow nor Oz did, in her mind, so she had attempted to keep them out.

As she sat down beside her friend, she realized something very important. She was slowly, almost unnoticeably, eliminating her friendships. A part of her believed what Merrick had taught her, all those years ago, that a Slayer must work alone, even after what happened with Pike. That she alone was the one to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders, especially after what had happened with Angel. She had had to do it…alone.

_No weapons…no friends…no hope. Take all that away…and what's left?_

…_Me._

Her mind played the dialogue between herself and Angel…no, herself and Angelus, and realized just how seriously she had taken him. She truly had believed that she had lost her friends, and that loss had driven her away from Sunnydale. It was in that moment that she came to terms with herself…she had come to the belief that she was all that stood between Hell and Earth, all due to Angelus's words. He had truly screwed with her mind. But, no…it wasn't all his fault. She could have realized the truth, realized that there were people out there, willing to listen and help. But, she didn't. She had stubbornly obeyed his call as she told herself 'I'm the Slayer!'

"So," Willow's voice erupted her out of her thoughts, "What's the plan? For tonight's slayage. We're going, aren't we?"

For a moment, Buffy opened her lips to say 'no' or to avoid it but…she knew she couldn't. She had to make herself realize that she still had one friend left, one friend who was more than willing to help her out, to take some of the load…to remind herself that she wasn't alone.

"Yeah," she said after a moment.

Willow sat there, surprise echoing throughout her mind. She had expected something more…avoidy, or a flat-out no, like Xander had received…though, in reality, everyone had just not informed him. But, she could tell that Buffy meant it.

"You ok," she pressed for more information.

Surprisingly, the blonde Slayer began to sprout small tears from her eyes. She laughed slightly and tried to blink them out, but to no avail.

"What's wrong with me, Wills," she asked, though she obviously knew, "I mean, I try and keep you out of the fight and, you only get hurt because of it. What's worse is, I did the same to Xander, after all he's done for me, and he does the only thing that can hurt me more than any demon can…he leaves. I push him away and, I act all surprised to find out that he's left, and I try to bring him back in, only to end up doing the same thing again. Why did I do that?"

"…I don't know," she answered, "Why do you keep us all away, we're your friends?"

"…I don't want to be alone," she whispered.

"So, you push us away," she was shouting by now, "What the Hell kind of logic is that?"

"So you won't die," she stated sourly, "I don't want you to die because…I don't want to be alone," Willow, shocked to the core, moved to embrace her but, Buffy held up her hand to stop her, "Look how well that's turning out! I already lost one friend, and nearly lost you…who's next, Mom?"

"…It's not too late, Buffy," Willow tried, "You can still fix things."

"Can I," her response was so filled with sadness that the redhead had to keep herself from crying, "With you, maybe, but…Xander's gone. I wanted him out, and I got my wish, and it's tearing me apart. I couldn't face myself, couldn't realize that I was to blame. I was scared that I really had done it, and it was so easy to pass the blame off to his friends."

"His friends," she asked, her curiosity piquing, "Who were they?"

"A British spy, a Cajun paintball player, and a brunette girl," was the bitter answer, "And they took…see," she collapsed into another fit of tears, "I'm doing it again! Blaming them for what I did."

Willow sat there, uncertain as to what to do. She wanted to comfort her friend but, she wasn't sure what kind of comfort the blonde Slayer needed. She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and took in a breath, wondering if Buffy would stand for this.

"Buffy," she said in a tone that demanded attention, causing the young girl to look up from her tears, "I appreciate your being able to admit this and, I forgive you but…you need to be having this conversation with Xander, not me."

Outside the door, a raven haired Slayer heard the entire conversation. She held a slight frown on her face and nodded her head, almost as though she had just convinced herself of something. She turned away from the door and down the hallway.

$£#

"He's setting up a ritual inside his conference room," Remy said.

Xander nodded in understanding. He, Remy, James, and Kate were gathered inside Kate's camper, weapons all over the area. James had a schematic of City Hall on the table and they were discussing what they had seen.

"We can use that thing you put in the window to get inside," Xander motioned to James to indicate his meaning, "For this one, we need to divide our forces. James and Remy, since you two have already come in through this entrance, I want you two to be the first wave. Go in and take Trick out, your shotgun blast'll be our signal to move in."

"Wait," Kate asked, "Where do we come in?"

"Through the front," he answered, "Armed with tranquilizers filled with a mixture of acid and actual tranquilizers. Don't kill any civilians, unless they take up an arm against you."

Kate nodded in understanding. She, too, had met people, Seth and his brother amongst them, who more than fit the bill of an evil being. Before the conversation could continue, however, there was a knock on the door to the camper. Everyone shared a look and, after a moment, Kate stood up and went to answer it. When she opened the door, she was met by a very surprising, though not unwelcome, sight. Faith stood there, her face serious.

"Faith," she greeted pleasantly, "Come inside, please."

"Shouldn't you know better than to do that," the Bostonian asked glibly.

"This is a camper," Kate answered, "Vamps don't need invites."

Faith nodded with a wry smile, showing that she understood. She took a quick look around and found the object of her search.

"X," she said to him, "Can we talk for a moment?"

Xander looked at her in surprise. Never before had the woman before him asked anyone anything, it was always 'take.' He stared into her eyes for a moment, not lost, but searching. He felt himself affirmed in the fact that he would be alright by the end of it, and that this was important to her, so…he nodded. She smartly turned around and walked outside, the Zeppo right on her heals. He followed her outside and closed the door, partially insuring that no one would hear them but, then again…

"Listen, man," Faith said to him, her gaze intense, "I know there's some bad blood between you and B, but…she was at home, crying her heart out to Willow when I left her. She's really torn up about this, man. She wants to make it better."

"…Why are you here," he asked of her, causing her to become nervous.

"I just…don't want to see two buds fight, that's all," her tone portrayed that she wasn't being honest but, there was something in her eyes that made him believe her, "And, I kinda like you," her nervousness seemed to multiply before his eyes and she looked down to the ground.

Xander, in a move that he swore he never once saw coming, gently lifted her head up by the chin to where she was looking in his eyes. He smiled at her.

"…I kinda like you, too."

He leaned in and gently brushed her lips with his own, an almost non-existent kiss that held a fire all its own. Faith found herself unsatisfied and, to that end, she wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him into her. The kiss rapidly grew in passion as the two continue on. They were stopped, however, in their throng before it could escalate, by a loud, clapping noise, along with a 'WHOO!' The two broke apart to see James, Gambit, and Kate clapping for them, whooping and hollering in maniacal glee.

"Right on, Xand," Remy shouted with a thrust of his fist.

Xander and Faith blushed, unused to this sort of attention. After a moment, Xander recovered and decided that now was the time for business. Plenty of time for closet hops later.

"Faith," his voice was tight in barely constrained feeling, "Go on and help Buffy…tell her to talk to me later. We've got something we need to do. Meet us in the library after this is done, ok?"

She nodded in understanding and was about to take off, only to be stopped by the young man's hand on her arm.

"One more for the road?"

$£#

Wesley stood in the background as Mr. Giles held back the door, blocking the vampires' entrance. It wouldn't last long. He reached down to the phone and picked it up. He dialed in the mobile number to one James Bond, hoping that his young friend would be able to help them. Unfortunately, they were already at the City Hall, preparing their coupe.

All he received for his troubles was a voice saying 'leave a message.'


	7. One of these Nights

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

Xander looked over at Kate, gripping his tranq pistol loosely in his right hand. Kate was right beside him, and all they were waiting for was the signal from Remy and James. They had infiltrated the Hall safely, with only a small skirmish between themselves and armed guards, none of which had been able to get a shot off before they felt a slight sting in their shoulder or neck. For humans, the small amount of acidic substance would only provide a slight stinging. For a vampire, the acid would erode them to dust.

'You ready,' he saw her mouth to him.

'Sure,' he said with a lopsided grin.

'I'm happy for you and Faith,' she looked happy, too, 'Everyone deserves someone to love them.'

Before their silent conversation could continue, however, the echoing thunder of a gunshot pierced their ears. The two snapped into action and kicked the door down, just as Remy and James descended to the floor, a dust pile near the Mayor, who was on his knees in the center of a pentagram. Nearby was a cage with an armed vampire inside.

"What is the meaning of this," Wilkins demanded, only to be silenced just as the quartet lined their weapons up against him.

"We know what you're up to, you bastard," Gambit said, malice evident in his voice.

"Or, should we say 'Olvikan?'" James smirked.

His face visibly paled.

"Now, here's the interesting part," Xander picked up from there, "We know all your secrets so…do you really think there's any chance in Hell that you're going to live past tonight?"

The Mayor frowned at that. He understood that he was a villain but, the way these children spoke to him. It was deplorable, disrespectful. Someone should give them a lesson in manners. Unfortunately for him, they had the guns and, thus, the advantage in this battlefield. …And he had no idea how to get out of it.

"We won't kill you," Kate said with a smile, all too sweet, "We're just going to walk away."

Without another word, she opened the cage, allowing the vampire freedom. Without a moment's worth of hesitation, it emerged from its place and swung its sword up. The last sensation the late Mayor Richard Wilkins (I, II, and III) felt was a sharp pain in his forehead, then…darkness.

As the vampire let his sword go, James lifted his shotgun up and pulled the trigger. Vincent collapsed into a pile of dust.

"…Well," Remy said pleasantly, "That was fun."

"I was expecting something more…" Xander scratched his head to come up with the word.

"Epic," Kate suggested.

"That's the one!" He nodded his thanks to her, "So, let's-"

"GUYS," James interrupted him as he stared down at his phone, "We need to get going, now! Wes left a message, he and Mr. Giles were taken hostage by those vamps the Slayers were hunting."

"…As I was saying," Xander continued on, as though he hadn't heard them, "Grab your stuff and let's vamoose!"

$£#

Buffy felt a hand grab her arm and she reacted instinctively. She grabbed it and tossed the being into a dumpster. Faith, who was the nearer of the three due to the fact that Willow was trying to burn one of the remaining vampires, came up with her stake at the ready and pulled her arm back to swing it home, only to be stopped as a body full-on barreled into her. Thinking it was a vampire, she reacted by thrusting her stake out and jamming it into the creature's thigh. Before she could finish the job, however, the body's voice forced her to a stop.

"FAITH, NO!"

She pulled back and focused in on the world around her. Right atop of her was the young man that she had decided, against her better judgment, to take on…one Xander Harris.

"X," she scolded as she helped him stay upright by placing her arm underneath his, "What the Hell do you think you're doing, man! You could've been killed!"

"Faith," she turned her gaze to Kate, who was helping the figure who Buffy had thrown into the garbage bin up, "This is Finch, the deputy mayor…and technical mayor, now."

She stared at the suited figure before her in complete shock. She had almost staked him…she had almost killed him!

"Oh, God," she muttered in disbelief, "I almost killed him."

"You didn't," Xander whispered to her, his voice reassuring, "And that's all that matters."

"What happened," Buffy asked as she and Willow came down the alley and, upon seeing Xander's injury, jumped to a conclusion, "FAITH! You attacked Xander!"

She charged forward, intending on doing her sister Slayer major harm, her anger fueled alongside feelings of bitterness at herself for not being there to take charge, at Faith for doing something so idiotic, and at Xander for being where he wasn't needed, all her thoughts of previous events be damned! What was happening now was too important. Before she could kill the poor excuse of a Slayer, however, she saw something fly out in front of her. It exploded upon impact against the ground, sending her reeling backwards and into the worried looking witch. She stood up quickly, hardly winded by the small blast, and was about to charge again, only to be intercepted by Xander's friends: Remy, his hands both filled with glowing cards, James, his shotgun pointed unwaveringly at her, and Kate, her own crossbow trailed against the Slayer.

"Think, Slayer," James shouted to her, his British voice filled with frustration, "She's supporting him, and that guy you threw into the dumpster is still alive…as in, breathing!"

That forced her to a complete stop. The guy hadn't been a vampire? But, then why did he grab her? And why had Faith stabbed Xander?

_He must've been running and bowled into her on accident_, she thought to herself.

"What were you thinking," she yelled at Xander after coming to these thoughts, never once truly thinking about the situation, "Coming down an alleyway filled with vampires! Were you thinking!"

"SHUT UP!"

The voice, surprisingly, came from a studly vampire charging down the alley towards her, a look of complete rage upon his face.

"Angel," she felt her spirits uplift as she saw her lover, only to have them plummet as she realized it was he who had shouted, "What-"

"Enough, Buffy," he snarled at her, his anger momentarily overtaking his love for her, "What Xander just did was incredibly heroic and he deserves more than your casual dismissal of him."

"What," she asked, outraged at his attitude, "What did Xander do, aside from run into a fight like an idiot!"

"He prevented Faith's killing of a man," that made her start, "If he hadn't ran into her, he would be dead right now."

"I saw his face," she turned around as she heard the Zeppo answer the unspoken question, "I don't want the death of a man, even one such as he, on her soul."

Buffy stared at him in complete shock, her gaze completely missing the looks of incredulity and disgust coming towards her from all there, save Faith and Xander, who were staring into each other's eyes.

"You did that," Faith asked, her eyes teary from his concern, "For me?"

"Finch is a part of the Mayor's, or deceased Mayor's, plot, so…yeah," he threw her a lopsided grin, only to have it disappear as she latched onto his lips with her own. The two kissed for a few moments, only to have it come to an end as Xander remembered why he and the others were there, "Listen, Giles and Wes got kidnapped by those vamps in the warehouse."

"We need to get them free," Gambit finished up, "Listen, _mon ami_¸ you need to get to a hospital before you get hurt any worse than you already are. Leave this one to us."

"I'll take him," Faith stated automatically.

"**I'll** take him," every eye there turned to Angel, "Willow, you come with me, and help keep an eye on him," he pointed to Finch as he said this.

"Here," James tossed the undead the keys to his SUV, "Take my car. And don't touch any of the buttons on the dashboard…or a few…bugger it, don't touch any buttons that Xand says you can't."

"…OK," Angel stared at the suited spy curiously.

He walked over to Xander and put his arm behind the young man's back, helping in keeping him upright, and the two slowly made there way out of the alley, Xander glaring at the blonde Slayer on the way out, who refused to meet his gaze. Willow waited nearby for Finch, who came at Kate's pointed behest quickly. As he went ahead of her, she turned around and stared at Buffy, who stared back, her eyes pleading for understanding. The witch, disgusted, just turned away and followed her friends.

"…Let's go," Buffy tried to take control of Faith and Xander's friends, only to have them form a circle around her, their eyes filled with barely contained hatred and distrust.

"Listen here, girl," Kate sneered at her, "Xander is the best man that I have ever had the honor of meeting. I trust him with my life, as do we all. I could care less about you and, that's just from meeting you but…when Xander told us about you, all the things you've done, I just couldn't believe it. You," she invaded the Slayer's personal space, causing her to back up a few feet and into Remy, "Don't order us around. We'll follow him and Faith, the witch, Willow, even that guy, whoever the Hell he is, but we won't follow someone who treats their best friends like shit!"

The two men nodded, feeling that Kate had personified their opinion of the blonde Slayer. Kate backed away and turned to go rescue the Watchers, her two friends right behind her. Faith lingered for a moment, her gaze flinty. She stalked up to the Slayer, who had to remind herself to not quiver in fear underneath her scorching eyes, though she still did anyway.

"…I went to him before this," she stated, causing Buffy to look at her in surprise, "To try and convince him to give you a second chance. He seemed like he'd do it," the Slayer gasped as she realized what this might mean, "But, I guess you've done blown that, Blondie."

The Dark Slayer turned away and followed the rest of Xander's friends, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

$£#

Xander remained silent as Angel drove them down the streets of Sunnydale. He snuck a few glances to the seat behind him, to where Willow and Finch were sat. Willow looked as though she were in a world all her own, and that world wasn't happy, whereas Finch was just ecstatic that his boss was dead.

"…We'll drop you at your house on the way," Xander called to the man, who nodded in agreement.

He grinned at him and turned his head back to the front. He shifted his body a little to get more comfortable, only to feel a sting of pain as his thigh touched the seat.

"You OK," Angel asked, concern evident in his voice.

"The blood's stopped flowing," he answered him, "Good wrap, Willow."

"Thanks, it's my specialty," she said with a grin, though her voice betrayed her lack of emotion.

"…What's happened to her," Angel wondered aloud.

No one needed to be told who he was speaking of.

"She said that she doesn't want to be alone," Willow responded, "She doesn't want us to die and leave her, so she pushed us away."

"What the Hell kind of logic is that," Xander asked.

"…Angelus," the two turned their gaze to the vampire as he muttered his separate entity, "He told her that she was all alone, during the last fight about Acathla…that bastard."

"He really screwed with her brain," Xander agreed, "But, why me?"

"You were the main source of opposition when it came to resouling me," Angel stated philosophically, "Maybe she identified it with usefulness. Which, let me say…I agree with you," he held up his hand to stop Xander from questioning him, "I was killing people, hurting her. She proved time and time again, to Angelus's benefit, that she couldn't do it. I didn't want to hurt anyone and, I hoped to God that she was willing to get over it just to make sure I didn't hurt anyone ever again. She did just want her boyfriend back and was willing to overlook everything that happened to see it done. And so was I," Angel said this with a look of self loathing.

"You did spend several hundred years in Hell," Willow tried to appease the wounded vampire.

"It wasn't enough," both Xander and Angel stated.

"…but, I forgive you," Angel and Willow stared at Xander in disbelief, "The sheer fact that you know, and are willing to accept the blame for it, is enough for me. For the moment."

"You aren't going to hold a grudge," Angel asked, confused.

"I only hold grudges if you repeat your mistakes," he answered honestly, "If you were to do something as selfish as sleeping with Buffy, and it's not to do with the fact that you'd lose your soul, it's got to do with the fact that she's over a hundred years underneath you agewise and that she's a vampire Slayer, whereas you are a vampire, you knowing that your relationship would be, as Giles once said, 'problematic at best' is selfish on a completely different scale. It's like a drug addict: she knows you're bad for her, but she doesn't give a damn. You should be the bigger man and put what's best for her above your feelings, as well as her own."

"Xander," Willow said quietly, "We weren't able to. You can't expect something of someone if you can't do the same. Just the same with your anger over finding out that she was hiding Angel. We were hiding our affair."

"But, us hiding ours would only hurt the people we love," Xander said, a look of self hatred deeply entrenched upon his face, "Her hiding Angelus might have ended up getting more people killed than either of us could imagine, including Oz and Cordelia. And, aside from that, we tried to stop, kept on trying…till we were caught, then we went cold turkey."

Angel grinned at that.

"Buffy said something similar," he turned at their surprised gazes, "Yes, we tried to quit. Didn't last. …She does worry about you, you know."

"I think that has something to do with it, yeah," Xander answered as they pulled up to the hospital, "But…I honestly wish she just hated me. It would be easier for all of us to deal with than this."

The two opened their mouths to say something, and closed them as they saw the wisdom in his words. Hatred is pure, whereas what Buffy was doing…was confusing, hypocritical, and simply wrong considering what she claimed. If it was hatred, then she would at least have a fairer reason.


	8. Rough Rider

_**Brothers in Arms**_

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

Three months later:

With the Mayor defeated, the forces of the Hellmouth went into the same reclusion every time an enemy had been defeated. Few new events really occurred, with a few notable exceptions. Alan Finch, the new Mayor of Sunnydale, began a program dedicated to getting kids off the streets or out of bad situations, such as Faith. He gave her a job as a secretary, with absolutely no benefits. When Anya came to Willow with the proposition, due to her distance with Buffy over her treatment of them, and Xander's upheaval in wisdom and confidence, she never even gave the ex-demon the time of day and, due to Xander's backing of the witch, the girl lost all sexual interest that she had once had for the human.

Buffy did attempt to gain forgiveness from Xander but, after being hurt so many times, he had decided to completely sever his ties with her. She had completely decimated his feelings, not to mention his life, with her attitude before Gambit had come back, along with Jimmy and his new friend, Kate, and she kept on doing it, no matter how many times she tried to make things better. Giles had, upon learning of their pseudo-Slayerettes from Xander, insisted upon seeing Gambit's powers, along with hearing of Kate's misadventures. After a few test trials, Giles had accidentally destroyed the table by flinging one of his charged cards into the wooden structure. Buffy had just come in and, in one of her most brilliant moments of idiocy (paradoxes are fun), charged the mutant and systematically began to pound the living shit out of him. By the time they had calmed her down, Remy was down for the count, needing to get to a hospital for a concussion and several cracked ribs. Buffy had assumed that Gambit had betrayed them and that shehad 'saved' them so, she expected Xander's automatic forgiveness for what she had done, along with an apology that would make the U.S. Senate want him as their PR man. The look on her face when Giles had told her the truth was almost worth it.

Almost.

Remy got better quickly, what with being a superhuman guy, but not before Kate, Faith, Willow, and Oz (he and the rogue had bonded due to their mutual status as genetically altered beings, along with their love of music) had gotten a little bit of vengeance by placing a small card, barely charged by Remy, underneath her pillow. She burnt her hair completely, along with completely destroying her bedspread. No true harm done, her eyebrows grew back…eventually. Cordelia had a field day with that one, creating a rapidly humiliated Slayer which, to them, had long been in coming.

James had briefly returned to the Mother country, along with Wesley who, in an act of rebellion inspired by Xander's own rebellious function against the Slayer, quit the Council when they came to do Faith's Cruciamentum. M had listened to the Watcher's rendition of events and, after receiving substantial proof of the existence of the supernatural, had agreed with Bond's initial request toward discovering the other routes of supernatural existence within the world, such as the theory put forth by R that there may be demon underworlds. Bond had suggested, with the approval of Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, that he and the select demon hunters travel around the world, studying the existence of demons and discerning their main focal points or, more specifically, where their underground may exist. In other words, he, Xander, Kate, Remy, and Faith were all going on a road trip around the country, then Canada, then Mexico, then South America. Then, flights all over the world. In other words, Jimbo had conned the old lady into getting them a paid vacation around the Earth. They already knew where the chief areas for demons were, mostly where they were for humans but, it convinced M so, they were completely in the clear for it. They'd take a tour of America, Mexico, Britain, Russia, France, Spain, Africa (perhaps), and definitely Japan (Kate was a huge fan of Anime).

Willow and Oz had been tempted to accompany them but, the witch was going to UC Sunnydale, so they were going to stick around. The only reason why they were was because Willow refused to allow the Hellmouth to be in control of just Giles and Buffy. They needed someone to keep them down to Earth, though Giles should do better than that, but…faith was not something she had a lot of now.

Angel had been systematically disgusted by Buffy's complete display of inconsideration and selfishness, up to the point where he had seriously begun to question their relationship. The final straw had been with Remy. They were meant to help people, not jump to conclusions like morons. So, with that in mind, along with Xander's speech, he had decided to go away to LA.

So, everything had come to a head of some sorts. Xander and Faith were steadily dating, with no sexual encounters to speak of. Kate and Remy had begun a small relationship together, which had gotten off to a rocky start due to his hospitalization, no matter how temporary it was. James had had a one night stand with Anya, interestingly enough, so, the girl had transferred all her attention to Jimbo, much to his dismay. But, he had to admit, the girl knew what she was doing in the sack.

$£#

Graduation:

"Say cheese," Wesley grinned as he held the camera.

The Scooby Gang was all gathered together, in the library, Giles stood up on the second level with Joyce and Buffy Summers hanging on his arms, Xander in the center of the group on the first level, his arms around Willow and Cordelia's waists, with Oz right next to the redhead, and Faith leering theatrically towards the cheerleader, who was meeting her game of chicken with ferocity. Sat at the new desk in the chair at the head, in front of Xander, was James with Kate to his left and Remy on his right, both with an arm around his back, Remy and Kate smooching the spy on his cheek. After a quick flash, the picture was taken, a memory for all left behind and all those to come.

$£#

Xander grinned widely as he tossed his last bag into the RV, grateful to be finally released from his hometown. Willow, Oz, Cordelia, and, surprisingly, Angel were there to see him off, the latter out in the night air. Giles had already paid his respects, interestingly in the form of cash, as had Wesley, who had stutteringly asked him to give his blessings to the crew. Buffy was nowhere to be seen but, it wasn't odd. She had finally understood things from his point of view and had decided to just leave it be.

The young man turned his attention firstly to his former girlfriend, who was glaring at him. He wasn't surprised…not until she clutched onto him and began to devour his lips. Faith, still enthralled in the ecstasy of their chicken, decided to let it go. After a moment, Cordelia drew back and stared into his eyes.

"…Treat her well."

With that, she turned away and climbed into her new car, intent on driving back home. The graduates, and Angel, all stared after her as she drove away, amazed at the display. Oz recovered first, completely in character, and came up to him. The two shook hands.

"Take care of her, Oz," Xander said to his friend, "She deserves the best."

"It's not me," Oz muttered, towards where only he could hear, "But, I won't leave her."

Xander nodded in understanding and backed away, while Oz walked back over to where the vampire and witch were standing. Willow came up next, a smile on her face. Without hesitation, the first time in months, the two embraced as brother and sister, what they once were.

"…Be safe," she kissed him on the cheek, and didn't feel any bit of spark as she pulled away, "I love you."

"…I love you, too."

$£#

"You gonna miss this place," Faith asked, her hand around her boy's neck as the two leaned against the window, looking out into the night.

"Yeah, but, I'll get over it," he grinned as Faith pouted at him, "Look at all that I have to keep me busy."

James smiled as he looked on at them, then grimaced as he noticed a shape behind the RV. A blonde girl, running after the camper, shouting her head off. He smiled and was about to leave her in the dust but, he just couldn't do it. They deserved a chance to get everything good again. He groaned as he pulled over onto the sidewalk, hoping to any force that this wouldn't take long. Needless to say, he was not over her attack on Gambit, who was asleep with Kate in the back, thank God.

"What's up," Xander asked, "Why're we slowing down?"

"Buffy's behind us," James answered back.

Xander sighed and took a moment to think. Did he really want to have one last confrontation with her? Or did he just want to let things stand? He turned his attention to Faith, to get her opinion. She shrugged, letting him know that the choice was all his. He sighed again and stood up.

"If I'm not back in five minutes," he told James, "Run like Hell."

He walked up to the door and gently opened it, then stepped down to the ground. He slowly turned his gaze upon the petite Slayer, who was standing a few yards back, letting him make the first move. He came forward, taking as much time as he could, and paused just a few feet before meeting her.

"…Hi," she muttered to him, "Y-you passed by and…"

"You wanted to talk," Xander confirmed.

"…I don't want to leave things the way they were," she said, rubbing her arm and looking down at the ground.

"I know how you feel," the young man said back.

"…How did things ever get this way," Buffy asked.

"…Angelus," Xander responded, "You let him get under your skin and into your head. You were afraid of being alone, so you pushed us away to keep us alive. Don't get it, don't wanna."

"You've been talking to Willow," it wasn't a question.

"And Angel," she cringed at the mention of her former, "We're all pretty much in agreement."

"I don't get a say in what's wrong with me," she questioned his logic.

"If you'd actually think about what's wrong with you, then yes, you would. Besides, you came up with the concept, bottle blonde."

Ordinarily, Buffy would be shocked and outraged at his comment but, after all she had put him through, she was…more understanding. At least when it came to his point of view.

"…You're right," she walked forward slowly, and Xander did not back away, "I just…don't want to leave things this way."

Xander agreed with her, for once. He didn't want to leave their relationship like it was. Slowly, he opened his arms and braced himself, knowing that within a few seconds, they were going to be impacted by a petite Slayer, fully backed by her strength.

He wasn't disappointed.

"…I love you, Xander," Buffy whispered as she cried into his chest, "Please, don't leave me."

"Buffy, I'm already going," he told her, "I'm not going to leave my friends for you."

"…No, you wouldn't," Buffy said as she pulled away, "You're not that kind of man."

He smiled at her and gently cupped both her cheeks and pulled her into him. He planted a small kiss upon her forehead, then slowly backed away, allowing her a moment to remember the feel of it.

"I always loved you, Buffy. And I always will."

He turned away and walked back down the street.

"…Be safe," she wished him as he rode off into the rough night.


End file.
